CONFIRMED! Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Ball Tour live in Manila on May 21!

Little Pinoy monsters, the rumors are true.

Ovation Productions has confirmed to Yahoo! Philippines OMG! that Lady Gaga is returning to Manila for her current Born This Way Ball Tour at the Mall of Asia Arena on May 21. 

In her brand new tour, the five-time Grammy winner will perform her latest album “Born This Way” as well as music from her first two: 2008’s “The Fame” and 2009’s “The Fame Monster.” 

The tour, produced globally by Live Nation, will begin on April 27 in Seoul and proceed to Hong Kong, Tokyo and Taipei before landing in Manila.  Prior to this announcement, Manila has not been listed in Lady Gaga’s official tour schedule.

She will also be the first act to perform at the new 20,000-capacity Mall of Asia Arena which opens on May 19. 

In a statement, “Mother Monster” herself said, "The Haus of Gaga and I have worked for months conceiving a spectacular stage. THE BORN THIS WAY BALL is an Electro-Metal Pop-Opera; the tale of the Beginning, the genesis of the Kingdom of Fame. How we were birthed and how we will die celebrating.”

“Mother Monster” is a persona Lady Gaga has adopted,  which references the fans she calls her “little monsters.”

“The new show is easily the most fun I've had on stage in ages, + YOU'RE not even there yet! IM GONNA DIE OF EXCITEMENT. Throw ice if i do,” Lady Gaga tweeted on March 12 to more than 20 million followers, the most for anyone on Twitter.

“Wait till you see the music come to life,” she told her fans, in an earlier tweet.

Cel and Renen De Guia of Ovation Productions said negotiations to get Manila into her tour itinerary began last year.

Ovation is the same outfit that brought Lady Gaga to Manila in 2009 for a sold-out show. It was, said the De Guias, the pop phenom’s very first stadium show as a headliner. Few will remember that Lady Gaga used to open for the Pussycat Dolls. 

Today, she has been named Forbes' Most Powerful Woman in the World 2011 and was included in Time's annual "The 2010 Time 100" list of the most influential people in the world. With over 2.2 billion combined views of all her videos online, Lady Gaga is one of the biggest living people on Facebook with over 47 million “likes.” She is also the only artist in the digital era to top the five million sales mark with her first two hits.

Tickets for the Manila leg of The Born This Way Ball tour go on sale in Manila on Monday, April 2, at 12 noon at all SM Tickets outlets. Ticket prices are:  P15,000  11,000  5,000  2,000. Call 470 2222 for ticket info. 

Ask Billboard: What Should Lady Gaga's Next Single Be?

Ask Billboard is updated every week. As always, submit your questions about Billboard charts, sales and airplay, as well as general music musings, to askbb@billboard.com. Please include your first and last name, as well as your city, state and country, if outside the U.S. 


WHAT SHOULD LADY GAGA'S NEXT SINGLE BE? 

Hi Gary, 

I have a question related to Lady Gaga and the mid-chart success on the Billboard Hot 100 of "Marry the Night," which reached No. 29. 

In "Ask Billboard" last week, you wrote: "'Marry' is, ultimately, more of a club groove than a top 40 natural." I want to know what you think are more "top 40 natural"s from Gaga's "Born This Way" album and what you think her next single should be (if you think there should be a next single). 

Thanks, 

Kevin Ramos 
New York, New York 


Hi Kevin, 

If I worked at Interscope Records and had the almighty power to pick singles, I'd choose "Hair" as the sixth and final single from "Born This Way." 

The song already peaked at No. 12 in its only week on the Hot 100 last June as a preview digital track from the album but has not made its way to the radio-listening masses. Co-written by Gaga and RedOne, the song, which has sold 174,000 downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and whose audio video on the official LadyGagaVEVO channel stands at 11 million views, just sounds like a smash, doesn't it? The pair also co-wrote the set's second single, "Judas." 

If "Hair" remains an album cut, it'll join that bittersweet group of great songs that were never released as radio singles. Gaga has already has two others, by my humble count: 

"Boys Boys Boys," also a Gaga/RedOne co-write 

and, "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)," another song from "The Fame" that showcases more of her bubblegum pop side 

The artist to whom Gaga seemingly receives the most comparisons also boasts a catalog of album tracks that might've been big radio hits had they been released as singles. Here's one fan's list of five songs that may have been big singles for Madonna had they gotten the chance: 

"Dear Jessie" (1989), a European-only single that might've been too left-of-center for U.S. radio. Still, it has a great hook and is similar in sound to fellow "Like a Prayer" cut "Cherish," which hit No. 2 on the Hot 100. 

"Love Tried to Welcome Me" (1994), which, had it followed "Take a Bow," might've won over radio more easily than the rather experimental "Bedtime Story" and "Human Nature" 

"Time Stood Still" (2000), from the movie in which she starred, "The Next Best Thing," the song built upon the melodic almost-new age vibe in places of her 1998 album, "Ray of Light" 

"Amazing" (2000), from "Music," a sonic sequel to 1999's '60s-retro "Beautiful Stranger" 

"Devil Wouldn't Recognize You" (2008), a song from "Hard Candy" that she co-wrote with Justin Timberlake, whose obvious influence might've made it fit in better at radio than second single "Give It 2 Me." Then again, since lead track "4 Minutes" featured Timberlake on vocals, releasing "Devil" could've been inferred as Madonna piggybacking too heavily on the starpower of a younger-generation act. 


"Ask Billboard" asks you: What's on your list of songs that absolutely, positively should've been radio singles over the years? From theBeatles ("Across the Universe," "Blackbird," "Getting Better," "Here Comes the Sun," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps") to Bruno Mars (what a shame that "Marry You" was never a single), what songs do you think could've garnered years of radio airplay but instead remain hidden album gems. 

Share your choices at askbb@billboard.com and we'll pick up the discussion in the next "Ask Billboard." 

Lady Gaga: I still buy designer fakes

Lady Gaga has confessed she's partial to buying the occasional designer fake on holiday.

The Bad Romance singer may be able to afford the priciest of clobber, but couldn't resist stocking up on fakes on a recent trip to Japan.

Gaga is quoted in the Daily Mirror as revealing: "In Tokyo, they have all these stores that have fake Chanel and Versace. And I'm an Italian from New York, so I still buy it.

"This jacket is fake."

The singer, 25, recently announced she's planning to release a new album this year.

Gaga - who racked up a host of awards for her first two solo albums, The Fame and Born This Way - said she was "looking forward" to unveiling her latest offering.