Lady Gaga Indulges in $450 Tracie Martyn Facial for 28th Birthday

Lady Gaga got quite a treat for her birthday this year!

In honor of her golden birthday (she turned 28 on March 28) and her residency at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City, the "Bad Romance" singer visited celebrity facialist Tracie Martyn for one of her signature treatments twice in one week.

Lady Gaga was spotted coming out of the Tracie Martyn Skin Care Salon in NYC on March 25th and March 27th. According to a source, Gaga indulged in the Red Carpet Facial with Martyn (Kate Winslet is also a devotee!) on both days. She also left with the famed Purple Bag full of Marytn's skin care line.

Described as the "haute couture of all treatments," the luxe facial aims to lift, firm and contour the jaw line, cheek bones and around the eyes using mild current and LED lights. An hour-long session with Martyn costs around $450.

Asked about the secret to her glowing complexion back in 2011, Gaga gave credit to a healthy sex life. "Orgasms, lots of orgasms," she told Elle U.K. "Orgasms and spinach."

Lady Gaga In Rare Form For Porter Magazine Cover

We rarely get to see Lady Gaga like this.

On the cover of Porter magazine's second issue, Lady Gaga forgets about her over-the-top wigs and interesting grillz and goes for a pared-down look which we can't help but love. Although she isn't completely makeup-free, the neutral shadows, subtlemascara and '70s-esque hair makes us think that Gaga should try this style more often.

And we'll just say what you're probably thinking: At least she's not covered in puke.

Take a look at the cover and an inside photo from the second issue of Porter magazine, on stands April 4.

An unseen shot from inside our @LadyGaga cover story. On sale April 4.#LadyGaga #ARTPOP #GagaForPORTTER pic.twitter.com/3Ump1O0YHU

— PORTER magazine (@PORTERmagazine) March 31, 2014

Lady Gaga's Tourmates Crayon Pop Scratched Her Off Their 'Bucket List'

MTV News chats with the K-pop group opening for Gaga. Credits to MTV NEWS

It's quite possible that some of you may have never heard of K-pop sensation Crayon Pop before, but trust us, you are about to know a whole lot more about them. They are the opening act of Lady Gaga's upcoming artRave: The ARTPOP Ball Tour.

The outlandish quintet, comprised of Gummin, Soyul, Choa, Ellin and Way, burst onto the scene back in 2012, but it was their dance craze viral hit, "Bar Bar Bar," that made them international stars. With their unconventional colorful style, complete with helmets and track jackets, and their recognizable choreography, the girls seem like the perfect fit to join Gaga on tour.

MTV News recently spoke with Crayon Pop, who call the opening act gig "an honor."

"At first time we heard about this news, nobody believed. When we realized it's true, everybody said, 'No kidding!' Especially, one of our members, Ellin, had written a bucket list like 'I would like to have a concert with Lady Gaga' in an interview and that dream came true," they said. "After that, all of members believe the old saying, 'dreams come true.' "

The girls kick off their stint with Gaga on June 26 and they will be visiting cities including Milwaukee, Boston, Toronto and Chicago before ending with two nights at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on July 21 and 22.

Crayon Pop admit that they haven't spoken to Gaga about the upcoming tour, but they have been watching her performances on YouTube, which left them seriously impressed because "she always tries new things and shows extreme style."

"We respect her for seeking her own style music, no matter what people think of," they said. "Other may think 'she is weird' or 'it is too much', but, she keeps her own creative concept. Finally the public recognized her talent. It is awesome. On top of that, we respect her confident attitude."

The girl group just released their latest single, "Uh-ee," another fun, upbeat track, that will certainly have fans on their feet and dancing along, which is exactly what they hope fans do when they see them in action.

"In upcoming opening act, anybody can follow our dance, even someone who has never seen our performance because most of our choreography is really easy and fun," Crayon Pop said. "Our motto is 'Let's give joy to people who listen to our music'. We are always enjoy on the stage and hope people who listen to our music do too."

Here are Crayon Pop's tour dates With Lady Gaga:

»6/26 - Milwaukee, WI @ Summerfest at Marcus Amphitheatre
»6/28 - Atlantic City, NJ @ Boardwalk Hall
»6/30 - Boston, MA @ TD Garden
»7/2 - Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
»7/7 - Buffalo, NY @ First Niagara Center
»7/9 - Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
»7/11 - Chicago, IL @ United Center
»7/14 - San Antonio, TX @ AT&T Center
»7/16 - Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
»7/17 - Dallas, TX @ American Airlines
»7/19 - Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden
»7/21 - Los Angeles, CA @ Staples Center
»7/22 - Los Angeles, CA @ Staples Center

Lady Gaga rules Roseland Ballroom

Lady Gaga isn’t backing down.

Her record-setting string of shows that will serve as the finale for Roseland Ballroom, set to close after 95 years of entertaining Manhattan, is as brainy and fierce as the “Artpop” album that spawned it. And on Monday night, the third concert in her seven-show run, Gaga fired up her faithful Little Monsters from the moment she took the paper-rose-covered stage in her massive brassy-blonde wig, impossibly high-heeled boots and, well, not much else.

“I love my life,” she said to roars during the opener, a slowed-down version of “Born This Way.” “I love this Roseland.”

Gaga is at a crossroads in her career. She can either try to recapture the superstardom that came with “Born This Way” or continue pursuing the more avant-garde artistry of “Artpop.” With the Roseland shows, she seems to be doubling down on the “Artpop” course.

From Roseland’s second stage, designed like the front of an F train subway car, Gaga looked out on the sea of smartphones taking her picture. “Those iPhones look like hats from here,” she said. “It’s like the Philip Treacy show I never wanted to see.”

Because the Roseland shows are separate from the massive extravaganza she is planning for the “ArtRave: The Artpop Ball Tour,” which starts May 4 in Fort Lauderdale and returns to New York at Madison Square Garden on May 13, the 70-minute set’s focus was on older material to keep her treatment for the newer songs under wraps.

The piano-driven versions of “Born This Way” and “Poker Face” showed how the hits can thrive even without a thumping dance beat. And her piano ballads “You and I” and the emotional “Dope,” which she dedicated to the doctor who replaced her hip, served as the concert’s centerpiece, showing off both her big voice and her even bigger performance persona.

Those songs – even more than the high-energy “Bad Romance” or the recent hit “Applause” – are what make the backlash against Gaga so puzzling. She’s clearly dancing and singing live, as the heavy breathing she does while talking between songs attests. That’s something few artists attempt, much less handle well, especially on songs that they wrote themselves, the way Gaga does.

In the end, that’s why she can shrug off talk about being “too theatrical.” After she did a fun version of “Just Dance” with her full troupe of nine dancers, she talked about how people said, “I wonder how long she’ll last.”

“It’s not nice to make me angry,” she joked.

Then she was off to the next hit. (She plays Roseland again Wednesday, Friday, Sunday and, for the final show, April 7.)

SETLIST: Born This Way / Black Jesus + Amen Fashion / Monster / Bad Romance / Sexx Dreams / Dope / You and I / Just Dance / Poker Face / Applause // ENCORE: G.U.Y.

Lady Gaga Shuts Roseland Ballroom with 7 Night Residency

Top of the crops! Lady Gaga braves the New York chill in midriff-baring ensemble, fishnet hotpants and towering platforms

She is already making a splash with her on stage dramatic wigs and costumes during her seven day residency at the Rosewood Ballroom in New York City.

But Lady Gaga is also unsurprisingly determined to make her fashion mark outside the venue.

After arriving for Monday's show in an intricate iron fencing mask and long white wig, the singer left sporting revealing hotpants, crop top and fishnets. 

Scroll down for video

And perfectly placed strips of black fabric appeared to protect the star's modesty as she emerged onto the chilly New York streets. 

Along with the underwear the star sported towering platform boots, a brown curled wig and huge black tinted sunglasses.

She was helped along to her car by members of her wackily dressed entourage.

Earlier, Gaga emerged from a New York City rose-adorned taxi cab sporting what appeared to be an intricately designed fencing mask by Philip Treacy.

She wore an extremely long white wig underneath teamed with an oversized tuxedo, black polo neck sweater, fishnet tights and heels.

Explaining the genius of Lady Gaga—using music theory.

Our mission: to dissect chart-topping pop singles and weigh their trembling flesh on the scales of Western music theory. Today I am typing about the unique genius of Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.”

From her early singles onward—“Just Dance” (U.S. No. 1), “Poker Face” (U.S. No. 1), “LoveGame” (U.S. No. 5), “Paparazzi” (U.S. No. 6), “Bad Romance” (U.S. No. 2), “Alejandro” (U.S. No. 5), and “Judas” (U.S. No. 10)—Gaga and her primary songwriting partner, RedOne, set rigorous guidelines as to what Gaga singles would or would not do:

1. Gaga is meant to convey a sexy, spooky energy. Result: Gaga would not release any major-key singles. Minor keys only. None of these seven singles is in a major key.

2. Gaga’s presence on the charts is monolithic, immovable. Result: Gaga would begin every verse (and most choruses) on the establishing i chord, that is, the root chord of the minor-key the song is in, suggesting permanence, an inevitability.

3. Gaga’s gaze upon the pop landscape is unflinching, unblinking. Result: Gaga would never do a single that modulated to another key. (Exception: “Paparazzi”)

4. Gaga is human, obeys her base impulses, with no uplifting effervescence or fluttery naiveté. So, despite the best advice of certain music writers, Gaga would never allow any of her dance-floor fillers to feature syncopated rhythms. Only repetitious juggernaut eighth-note patterns, please. (Exception: “LoveGame.”)

5. Gaga isn’t above high-fiving a stereotype once in a while. So, many of these singles feature spoken-word breakdowns with overtones of wide-eyed infantilism (“disco stick,” “bluffin’ with my muffin”) or French-maid fetishism (“Alejandro’s” intro, “j’veux ton amour et je veux ton revanche” [sic]).

6. Gaga has her sights set on the world stage, not just English-speaking countries. Result: All of these singles repeat the song title enough times so as to penetrate the language barrier. On her first five singles, she sings the song’s title 18, 30, 34, nine, and 36 times, respectively—I gave up counting by the time I got to “Alejandro.”

“But all of these songs sound the same,” you protest. You are correct. From song to song, Gaga likes simple, laserlike single-pitch melodies—compare “I want to hold them like they do in Texas please” with “I want your ugly, I want your disease” with “When he comes to me I am ready.”

She loves the interval of a perfect fifth—compare “Bad Romance’s” “Gaga ooh la” fanfare with “Paparazzi’s” “We are the crowd / We’re c-coming out” with “Judas’ ” “Judas Judaaaaas.”

Regarding her chord choices, well, I penciled them down, and I’ll give you the tl;dr version: She and RedOne keep it simple.

Some poppets may take this consistency of tone to be indicative of a “lack of creativity” on Gaga’s end. Me, I see it as strong branding. Yes, these seven singles are mechanically indistinguishable, but I hear L-A-D-Y on the left, G-A-G-A on the right, knuckles in your face, your inner ear is branded. Gaga is a fighter, not a lover.

“Bad Romance” is Gaga’s magnum opus, a summation of her musical vocabulary.

I like this monomania, too, as it definitively establishes Gaga’s own voice as a songwriter. She works with co-writers, as do most pop singer-songwriters, but her own writing voice is indelible. I respect performing artists and songwriters equally, but I extend extra good will to those artists who take on both roles. This is not because of any desire for “authenticity of authorship,” but because I, as an audience member, like superheroes.

And you cannot deny the efficacy of her narrow compositional vocabulary. I use the word “genius” without reservation. She is one of the most successful participants in the culture industry, resonating worldwide with people in all walks of life. If you wish to debate the worth of this industry, or whether or not “genius” can exist within it, we can do so at another time. Here is a video of Haitian kids singing and dancing to “Poker Face”:

All of the scene-setting of The Fame was to prime the world for Lady Gaga’s best and (as time will surely show us) most enduring pop single: “Bad Romance.” “Bad Romance” is Gaga’s magnum opus, a summation of her musical vocabulary, that expands upon the foundation of her first singles, and towers over her more recent ones.