Entertainment
Watch Lady Gaga Perform "Shallow" And "You And I" At A Biden Rally
"Let's win this. Pennsylvania, go blue!"
Less than 24 hours after Donald Trump referred to her as "a proud member of 'Artists Against Fracking,'" Lady Gaga joined presidential hopeful Joe Biden in Pennsylvania for a rally. Hoping to gin up some last-minute blue votes in one of the most crucial swing states, the pop star gave a simple but highly effective speech before coming back later in the evening to perform two of her biggest hits.
Sitting behind a podium that said "Battle For The Soul Of Our Nation" (a nod to the lyrics in her closing Chromatica track "Babylon"), Gaga began the night with a four-minute speech, where she urged attendees to head to the polls. "Turnout is going to be critical, so get there early, get there as early as you can, wait it out, pack food, dress warm, anything you might need," she said. "Now is not a time to feel confident and sit back. Right now, it's time for action. It's time to muster all of our energy, every ounce of us, every ounce of hope and optimism and enthusiasm, every ounce of fear and frustration and discouragement. Now is a time to show up and vote like this country depends on it, because it does!"
When she returned to the stage for her music performances, Gaga said, "This is not a shallow people. I'm gonna sing this song, hoping that this whole state can hear me. Pennsylvania, I'm gonna sing so loud!" She then dove into her Oscar-winning A Star Is Born track, taking brief breaks to drum up energy in the crowd. "Scream real loud if you're gonna vote tomorrow. Come on!" she yelled at one point. "Who's off the deep end? Who's off the deep end that Joe Biden needs to be president of this country?" she rhetorically asked later.
After finishing the song, Gaga offered an anecdote about Joe Biden. "I'm gonna tell you something. I've known Joe for a long time. I remember when I was hanging out with him one day and I was like, 'So...you're gonna run for president, right?'" she began. "And we had a little talk and then he did it. But I was like, 'Listen. We need you', because we needed somebody that was going to bring us all together for this very important moment. And it's going to be very clear what this country is tomorrow, so you've gotta go out and vote."
Later, Gaga launched into a story about her past living in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. "I was engaged to a man from Lancaster, Pennsylvania," she said, referring to her former fiancée, Chicago Fire's Taylor Kinney. "I know, it didn't work out. I loved him so much, it just did not work out. But I still love my Pennsylvania guys! I love Joe! So Joe's my new Pennsylvania guy. And I love nothing more than this moment, for this time, for you and I."
Naturally, the Grammy-winning pop star then dove into a rendition of her top-10 charting single "Yoü and I." When she sang, "This time, I'm not leaving without you," she directed it straight to the audience, half-joking, "I'm not leaving without your vote tonight. You know that, right?" And just as she had done while traveling the world for her Born This Way Ball Tour in 2012, she changed the lyrics from "something about my cool Nebraska guy" to "something about my cool Pennsylvania guy."
When it was all done, she shouted out, "America, I love you! I pray for you tomorrow. Let's win this. Pennsylvania, go blue!" It was a beautiful call-to-action that will hopefully make a true difference in today's election. As she concluded, "2020 is gonna change for 2021. Let's vote Trump out!"
Watch Lady Gaga's speech and her performance of "Shallow" and "Yoü and I" below.
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