During her first-ever performance at Harlem’s Apollo Theater,
Lady Gaga reflected on her path from the Lower East Side to the moment she won an
Academy Award.
“What an historical moment for me in my life,” the 33-year-old told the audience during the intimate show presented by SiriusXM + Pandora on Monday night. “Whatever it matters to the world, I don’t know, but for me, this is my personal history.”
She continued, “I was just a girl in an apartment on the Lower East Side with a keyboard and it feels so good to be here. I’m home and I’m with you and I know I like to change a lot, but a lot of s–t hasn’t changed, certainly not my deep love and respect and gratitude for all of you.”
Among those in the crowd were Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Amy Poehler, Adam Lambert, John Oliver, Camila Mendes, Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka.
“I used to sit in my apartment and write songs about fame, songs about boys, write songs about my family and I made it,” she went on. “They tried to take me down and I put my head back down and got back to work and then I looked up one day and had a f–king Oscar in my hand.”
Gaga told the audience they could do anything they set their mind to.
She exclaimed, “Every time someone tells you, ‘No,’ you tell yourself a thousand times more, ‘Yes, I can do this,’ because I’ll tell you something, they thought my s–t was shallow, but I look into all your eyes and I feel this room and there ain’t nothing in the world deeper than this.”