There’s something somewhat special about Lady Gaga, isn’t there?

A lot of people find her pretentiousness a little off-putting, but her superstar persona harks back to the days of interesting pop acts who had an element of mystery about them. Back in the 80’s (during the swinging days of Smash Hits Magazine), the private lives of people like Madonna, the Pet Shop Boys et al were, generally, kept to a bare minimum. It was an era where pop stars actually had something interesting to say about music, and it was a time where the thought of a music buying public putting up with dull and ordinary popstars was just not imaginable. Cut to 2008 where we are saturated with boring, lifeless, virtually unmarketable reality show contestants. Whilst pop music is still very much alive through the likes of Madonna and Girls Aloud (an exception to the reality show creation rule of being shit), it’s the immediate star-quality in new artists of late that has been severely lacking, that little extra something you saw in the eyes of Madonna as she beamed, with every belief in herself, she would one day “rule the world”.

Taking a first glance at Lady Gaga as she appeared on stage to a packed house at Inflation Nightclub in Melbourne, you could tell; that spark, that extreme pop sensibility, that drive to be one of the greatest pop stars of all time… it’s in her blood. The forcefulness of her entrance onstage was met by a suitably deafening response from the crowd, as Gaga appeared wearing glasses which were actually television screens, displaying images of her to the crowd.

She opened with “Love Game,” which was followed by a well oiled series of performances of “Eh Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)”, “Poker Face” (the next Australian single), “Beautiful Dirty Rich” and “Paparazzi”, where she practically threw her back into the crowd and began making demands of the audience such as “get your camera’s out and take photos of me!”

Her dancing was impeccable, as were her bizarre back-up dancers. The crowd were full-on, very into it and completely lapping everything she had to offer up. She seemed pleased with herself too; playing for the people that had actually made her the star she so richly wanted to be was obviously an incredibly satisfying experience for her. The show was brief (30 minutes to the dot), but completely worth it. She sang 100% live, didn’t miss a single dance step (even when there were some potentially dangerous moments involving security guards and audience members), and was an absolute star to watch. A truly transfixing experience.

Gaga will no doubt be returning to our fine shores soon, and when she does, you’d be an idiot to miss out on the spectacle she throws in your face.