Lady Gaga received one nomination at this year’s MTV VMAs, but that understandably was not enough to get the singer, who is promoting her film Joker: Folie à Deux, to Elmont, New York for the ceremony.
Gaga is up for a social category, the VMAs Most Iconic Performance award. This is a fan-voted award, and Gaga is up against Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Madonna, Eminem, and the joint performance of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Madonna, and Missy Elliot.
The 2025 ceremony might be very different though, as Gaga will be releasing new music this fall. She revealed last week that the first single of her seventh album will be coming out some time in October.
Gaga recently told Vogue that fans have her fiancé, Michael Polansky, to thank for this new project. “Michael is the person who told me to make a new pop record,” she said. “He was like, ‘Babe. I love you. You need to make pop music.’”
Polansky added, “Like anyone would do for the person they love, I encouraged her to lean into the joy of it. On the Chromatica tour, I saw a fire in her; I wanted to help her keep that alive all the time and just start making music that made her happy.”
Gaga reminisced on her last tour too, saying, “Michael and I did that tour together. I did it pain-free! I haven’t smoked pot in years. I’ve, like, changed.” She laughed. “A lot. I feel like this new album, in a lot of ways, is about that time but from a place of happiness instead of misery. And now, Michael and I are really excited to organize our lives—and our marriage—around our creative output as a couple, which is really different than, like, doing what other people want you to do.”
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.
