Last Thursday, I went down to Washington D.C. to see Lady Gaga on her tour, The Monster Ball. I’ve always had a real appreciation for what Lady Gaga does, from writing exceedingly catchy pop songs to crafting her appearance and shows like a piece of performance art, but seeing her live and then talking to her after (yup, I had a chance to briefly meet her after the show), I’m now in a bit of awe of her.

The Monster Ball is not just a concert, it is part Broadway show, part circus. From start to finish, Lady Gaga puts on a play telling the tale of her and her Little Monsters trying to get to the Ball. There are small parts of improvisation where she speaks directly with members of the audience (specifically in the second half where she calls an audience member in honor of homeless children kicked out of their homes because of their sexuality, a bit sponsored by Virgin Mobile, and invites the person backstage) but even those moments seem rehearsed. Whether that has to do with Gaga’s quick wit or practice, practice, practice, I don’t know. Probably both. But regardless, all combined, the show is riveting. And added to the play aspect, as she points out, Gaga does not lip-synch and vowed, she never would.

What did strike me as odd and at the same time genius, was that her rhetoric to the audience bordered on fanatic preaching, like telling her “Little monsters” that they would rise-up and all be super stars. It was these cult-like, empowering, rants that the still nerdy-girl-in-school part of me loved but that as an adult, I found shocking. I love her passionate, support of gay rights and message to teens that being different is ok, but with eight million Twitter followers hinged on her every word, I’m interested, and maybe a little concerned, to see what is next.

The following day, the other bloggers that Virgin Mobile had invited to the capital to see the show met Gaga’s director of digital media who revealed some interesting information about the singer’s obsession with, and deconstruction of, fame- that while she was struggling, she would study the lives of famous people and their rise. To counter that, she would study all the one hit wonders, analyzing what went wrong, therefore creating this step-by-step program to stardom. And hell if it isn’t working like gangbusters. Also, all her Little Monsters out there will be glad to know that unlike some big stars (I’m looking at you Robbie Williams), Gaga is the sole manager of her Twitter account. No one else posts on there ever. This way, Gaga is able to control her message, giving out enough information for people to obsess over in order to be able to hide the real details of her life. Gaga is the grand illusionist of fame.