Lady Gaga Reveals She Had COVID While Performing Five Chromatica Ball Concerts

Jazz Tangcay and Marc Malkin
·4 min read
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The invitation stated the event was going to be standing room only. “Think dance party while watching the film.”

And that’s exactly what it was. On Thursday night, Lady Gaga brought a dance party to NYA studios in Hollywood to mark the world premiere of her film “Gaga Chromatica Ball.”

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The evening kicked off with a Q&A moderated by Access Hollywood’s Scott Evans. “This was such a special time. This tour went on during a time that people didn’t think that you could. The stadiums were packed all, they were sold out and [people were] all dressed up, dancing and singing,” said Gaga in front of an audience of about 400 guests that included “RuPaul’s Drag Race” stars Gottmik, Sasha Velour and Violet Chachki.

During the Q&A, Gaga confirmed she was hard at work on her seventh album and was in the studio every day. She said, “I have written so many songs and I have produced so many songs.” Gaga added, “It’s nothing like anything that I’ve ever made before.” Gaga hinted she liked to break genre and enjoyed exploring music. She said, “There’s something really beautiful about knowing that you will be loved no matter what you do.”

Gaga also talked about the importance of her fans and how comforting they make her feel. She said, “This industry can feel very isolating sometimes, but I never feel alone when I’m with my fans.”

Asked to reveal something she had never said aloud or shared before, Gaga said she performed five shows while sick with COVID. “I just didn’t want to let all the fans down. The way that I saw it also is like the fans are all putting themselves in harm’s way every day coming to the show.”

The special captures the energy and some exceptional camera shots from the concert, and was filmed before a sold-out crowd of 52,000 people at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium on September 10, 2022. It features the Grammy and Oscar-winning artist performing such hits as “Bad Romance,” “Just Dance,” “Poker Face,” “Shallow,” “Rain On Me” and “Stupid Love.” The show closes with “Hold My Hand,” her Oscar-nominated song from “Top Gun: Maverick.”

Gaga first shared the news that she had been working on the film back in June 2023: “I spent countless hours in the editing room bringing my vision for this film to life. It is my gift to you – directed, produced and created by me, alongside some of the most talented, creative people in the world. The film’s executive producers are her longtime manager Bobby Campbell, Live Nation touring chief Arthur Fogel and Interscope Records’ John Janick and Steve Berman. The creative team also includes her longtime hair and makeup artists Frederic Aspiras and Sarah Tanno.

The ball celebrated Gaga’s sixth studio album “Chromatica,” which was released in the summer of 2020 — a dance party of tracks when there were few parties and most dancing was done at home. Variety‘s Chris Willman wrote of the concert: “Gaga has remained undaunted in making it clear that 2020’s ‘Chromatica’ is the album she is very much touring behind, with 10 songs from the two-year-old album accounting for just under half the overall set. There was a sense of post-pandemic victory to Gaga’s increasingly lengthy asides, late in the two-hour-plus concert — ‘The whole world did not fade. We’re all here, in some kind of way,’ she said.'”

Surrounded by friends, family and her fans, Gaga stayed until the very end and when the credits rolled, the audience turned to her, cheered and applauded, the dance party might have ended, but the healing power of music was a vibe.

Gaga stayed true to her words: This album and tour would be a dance party. There were no seats at NYA. This was Gaga’s dancefloor and everyone was welcome to relive the memories and “strut it out, walk a mile and serve it ancient city style.”

The Chromatica Ball film will premiere on HBO on May 25 and will be available to stream on Max.

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