Lady Gaga opened up about going through "tough times" while on stage at the iTunes Festival last night (01.09.13).
The 'Applause' singer performed her first show since undergoing hip surgery earlier this year and was overcome with emotion as she debuted eight new songs from her third studio album, 'ARTPOP', in a frenzied hour-long set at the Roundhouse in London. The set also featured dancers sporting pig masks and boiler suits, on-stage costume and wig changes, and several lengthy monologues about her new music.
Gaga addressed the criticism and jibes she's received throughout her career while introducing the pointedly blunt 'Swine', in which she sings: "You're just a pig inside a human body."
Never one to shy away from theatrics, the 27-year-old starlet dispensed with a voluminous blonde wig to reveal her "real hair" - a short, tousled brunette bob - as she told the crowd her hairpieces and head-turning stage costumes were a facade to "cover up the pain".
She added: "Like some of you, I went through some really tough times. Tough times I didn't talk about.
"When I didn't feel strong enough to be me, I created someone else. And it worked."
Gaga explained that her mission with 'ARTPOP' is to bring art and pop music together and defiantly insisted she will not be confined to a "box" with the forthcoming album, which boasts an eclectic mix of tracks ranging from the techno-pop 'Aura' and 'Manicure', to the heavily rap-influenced 'Jewels and Drugs'. The singer brought out rappers Too $hort and Twista to perform the latter with her, but a third featured artist - T.I. - was unable to join them because, she told the crowd, "they wouldn't let him into this country, poor thing."
Speaking of her new album, Gaga said: "I wanted to make music that would set me free. I wanted to set myself free of the box they put you in, in pop music. It's like you have to stay inside the box and be a good girl. I don't want to be in the box."
Despite being 30 minutes late to the stage, Gaga's energetic set - her first show since being forced to cancel the remainder of her Born This Way Ball tour due to a labral tear on her hip earlier this year - showed how she is back on fine form.
After closing the performance with latest single 'Applause', Gaga jubilantly celebrated her return with her dancers and backing band, jumping and clapping as she made her exit.
Lady Gaga's iTunes Festival set:
'Aura'
'Manicure'
'ARTPOP'
'Jewels and Drugs'
'Sex Dreams'
'Swine'
'I Wanna Be With You'
'Applause'