SEOUL—US pop diva Lady Gaga arrived in South Korea late Friday, one week before a Seoul performance which will kick off her third concert tour.

The singer, wearing a floor-length low-cut white dress, white gloves and a pearl-encrusted mask, blew kisses to fans at Seoul’s Gimpo airport who tried to snap her image on smartphones.

Her schedule in South Korea for the coming week was unclear and concert organizers Hyundai Card declined to give details.
“The Born This Way Ball” tour begins on April 27 at Seoul’s Olympic Stadium. From there Lady Gaga will take her hits and extravagant costumes to Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, New Zealand and Australia, and then on to 21 European cities.

South Koreans aged under 18 have been banned from the concert after it was rated unsuitable for younger audiences. The show had an initial age rating of 12 and older but the Korea Media Rating Board — a state watchdog — adjusted it upwards. Some religious groups in South Korea have opposed the concert, saying Lady Gaga has advocated homosexuality and performed in an explicitly sexual manner.

“Our Christian community needs concerted action to stop young people from being infected with homosexuality and pornography,” the Korean Association of Church Communication said in a statement last month.

Lady Gaga is expected to do 110 shows this year following up the success of her album “Born This Way”, which has sold nearly six million copies worldwide since it was released in May 2011.

Source: Inquirer Entertainment

We always knew Harvard attracted little monsters, but a recent announcement that Lady Gaga would be visiting the university in February further confirms that belief.

The international icon and sometime pop singer will be at the University’s Sanders Theatre on Feb. 29 to launch her Born This Way Foundation. The foundation will partner with The John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The California Endowment, Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society and the Harvard Graduate School of Education to further the principles established in American society via Gaga’s hit single “Born This Way.”

The Foundation aims to help individuals realize their full potential as humans, without facing hate or bullying. It will focus on “promoting self-confidence, well-being, anti-bullying, mentoring, career development and advocacy for young people,” according to the Crimson.

Fans of the Harvard Graduate School of Education can win tickets for the ceremony by “liking” the organization’s Facebook page. It already has nearly 10,000 likes, a number we expect will double by the launch party.

Source: Yale Daily News

After a year of extravagant globe-trotting and relentless advocacy of tolerance, Lady Gaga has been voted Entertainer of the Year by members of The Associated Press.

There were 135 ballots submitted by U.S. news organizations that make up the AP’s membership. Editors and broadcasters were asked to cast their ballots for who had the most influence on entertainment and culture in 2011.

“I am humbled and honored to be named ‘Entertainer of The Year’ by The Associated Press,” Lady Gaga said in a statement Monday signed “Mother Monster.”

“My deepest gratitude to the broadcasters and journalists who’ve supported me over the years, and in turn, are now supporting the loves of my life: my fans. Thank you for believing in ‘Born This Way.’ May you continue to brave the dreams of Showbiz.”

Lady Gaga narrowly edged out the late Apple founder Steve Jobs by three votes. Many others received numerous votes, including Taylor Swift, Charlie Sheen, Adele and the cast of “Harry Potter.” Previous winners of the AP Entertainer of the Year include Betty White, Swift, Tina Fey and Stephen Colbert.

But it was Lady Gaga whose eminence in 2011 stood out most to voters. While accepting the best pop vocal album Grammy for her previous disc, “The Fame Monster,” earlier this year, she said stardom was an adjustment for her.

“When I wrote ‘Born This Way,’ I imagined (Whitney Houston) was singing it because I wasn’t secure enough in myself to imagine I was a superstar,” she said.

When the album was released in May, 1.1 million copies sold in the first week, partly aided by a dramatic discount from Amazon, which sold it for 99 cents. But it was an industry-shattering moment because an extraordinary 60 percent of sales in the first week were digital downloads. Altogether, it outsold the next 42 albums on the Billboard chart combined. As of October, worldwide sales had surpassed 8 million copies.

“One of my greatest artworks is the art of fame,” the 25-year-old told “60 Minutes” earlier this year. “I’m a master of the art of fame.”

Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, is prepping for a “Born This Way” tour. Her “Monster Ball Tour” was still going strong earlier this year, which went a long way toward making her, according to Forbes, the highest grossing female musician in 2011. The magazine, which compiled pretax income earned from May 2010 to May 2011, said Lady Gaga earned $90 million.

Paul Pronovost, editor of the Cape Cod Times, called Lady Gaga’s “A Very Gaga Thanksgiving” — a bizarre ABC holiday special hosted by the singer — “a brilliant reach to mainstream America.”

“Transcendent performers like Lady Gaga come around as often as Halley’s Comet,” says Pronovost. “She has that rare gift of sophisticated self-promotion, so outlandish at times you just can’t look away” and the talent to back it up. “This is Madonna 4.0.”

The concerts spawned an HBO special, which was nominated for five Emmys Awards and won one. Lady Gaga was a regular presence at award shows throughout the year. She won three Grammys in February, including best female pop vocal performance. She won two MTV Video Music Awards. She was recently nominated for three Grammys for next year’s awards, including best album. This summer, her infamous meat dress — made of layers of Argentinian beef — was put on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

She visited the White House and appeared as the musical guest on “Saturday Night Live.” She performed at former President Bill Clinton’s 65th-birthday bash with an ode to Marilyn Monroe. She remained the person most followed on Twitter, with more than 17 million Little Monsters — or more people who live in Greece and Ireland combined. And for the mark of true fame, she was parodied by Weird Al Yankovic, who turned “Born This Way” into “Perform This Way.”

She collaborated with a number of music legends, including Elton John (“Hello, Hello” for “Gnomeo & Juliet”), Tony Bennett (“The Lady Is a Tramp”) and Cher (“The Greatest Thing”). She continually released ambitious videos, most recently the 13-minute epic “Marry the Night.” It had 5 million views in less than 48 hours.

“She gets people talking,” says Greg Retsinas, digital director of the Press Democrat of Santa Rosa, Calif. “She’s a polarizing figure not just in music and fashion but in pop culture and society. In a recent week, I heard her referenced personally by my 9-year-old daughter, a prominent local CFO and an airline pilot, all glowingly.”

With the help of the MacArthur Foundation and Harvard University, Lady Gaga also founded the Born This Way Foundation, a nonprofit focusing on youth empowerment and “issues like self-confidence, well-being, anti-bullying, mentoring and career development.” She has spoken frequently about such issues. At EuroPride, a gay pride concert in Rome in June, she said, “We beckon for compassion, understanding and above all we want full equality now.”

“I am a child of diversity,” she said. “I am one with my generation.”

Lady Gaga will be ringing in the New Year with typical showmanship. She’ll be the featured guest on Dick Clark’s annual “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” special from New York City’s Times Square. Meanwhile, Christmas shoppers can walk through the holiday display she designed at Barney’s in New York: 5,500 square feet of bright colors, crazy shapes and a gigantic cartoon statue of the superstar herself.

Apparently, Lady Gaga made a little bit of money this year: She tops Forbes’ list of Top-Earning Women in Music in 2011.

Just how much did Gaga make this past year? According to the magazine, the singer netted $90 million thanks to sales of Born This Way, her massive Monster Ball Tour and a number of endorsement deals.

But she’s not the only lady making bank this year. Coming in at #2 is Taylor Swift. The country/pop superstar managed to make $45 million over the past 12 months with the never-ending success of her Speak Now album (which she released back in 2010) and her tour of the same name.

Nipping at her heels is Katy Perry. The Billboard record-holder amassed $44 million with continued singles from 2010′s Teenage Dream and her California Dreams Tour.

Perhaps the biggest surprise in the top five is Celine Dion. The Canadian singer comes in at #4 with $19 million in earnings. The singer’s success is due in part to her Las Vegas stage show. Adele squeaked into the top five at #5 with $18 million, earned mostly from the album sales from her chart-dominating 21. Alicia Keys also makes the list; Forbes reports that the singer earned $10 million, beating out her hubby Swizz Beatz for the year by $3.5 million.

Forbes compiled the list using income earned from May 2010 through May 2011. It also used data from Pollstar and RIAA, as well as interviews with industry insiders and the musicians themselves.

Many of the ladies on this list also landed on MTV’s Songs of the Year countdown; Gaga’s “Born This Way” comes in at #5 and Perry’s “Firework” sits at #10.

Source: MTV.com