Emotional UAE fans go all gaga over Gaga

Dalia Amer, left,and Mays Dawood show their love for Lady Gaga by dressing up. Satish Kumar / The National

DUBAI // Lady Gaga greeted her UAE fans screaming “Marhaba Dubai” and wearing her trademark golden-tentacled ensemble with a glittery leotard and azure sphere attached to her chest.

She opened with Artpop, the title track on her latest album, following with G.U.Y, fronting a stage adorned with sparkling white spheres.

“It’s been so long,” she told the thousands of fans packed into Meydan Racecourse. “I want to see you have some fun.”

Gaga took the stage about an hour and a half later than expected, with the crowd starting to grow restless in the 35°C heat.

The show at Meydan kicks off the 28-year-old US pop superstar’s European leg for her ArtRAVE: The Artpop Ball tour, after which she will move on to Tel Aviv and Turkey.

Organisers declined to say how many of the 25,000 tickets had been sold for the Dubai show ahead of the concert, although they said they expected last-minute sales.

The performers were apparently surprised at the humidity.

“How do you guys stay so beautiful?” asked DJ Lady Starlight, who opened for Gaga.

“I thought the desert was supposed to be dry.”

Fans in the UAE expressed curiosity ahead of the show about how it would be adapted to abide by local laws.

Gaga told fans she was celebrating “international love”, freedom and equality.

“Tonight we will celebrate your talent, your individuality in this beautiful country,” she said.

In addition to seeing the American star’s face and “knowing she’s a real human being”, Nader Tabsh, 17, said before the show he was curious to see what the headline act would choose to wear, because the singer is known for wearing outfits often seen as provocative.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing what the alternative is here,” said Nader, a Lebanese high-school student in Shuweifat, who came with a group of friends equipped with a sign that read, “Take me backstage”.

He most appreciated Gaga’s “message of equality”, he said. “She’s the only true artist of our generation.”

Ali, 15, a British-Egyptian student who provided only “Gaga” as a last name, said he had been a fan of Lady Gaga’s for four years and was most excited to hear what she would say to her “Little Monsters” fans in the Middle East.

He flew to Dubai on a nine-hour flight from Egypt that had been re-routed in Kuwait, but found the time to don an outfit that included neon glow sticks and the words "Gaga" and "Artpop".

“How do I describe Lady Gaga? I love that she doesn’t really care what people think and she embraces that for her fans,” Ali said.

Emmy Manning, 19, from London, flew into the UAE at the last minute after purchasing tickets the day before the concert.

She wore a mermaid-inspired outfit with a seashell top, reminiscent of one of Gaga's looks in her video for the song Applause.

Ms Manning said she was curious about how a toned-down version of the show would compare to what she had previously seen at the Born This Way Ball, Gaga’s previous tour.

“She has to cater to the whole world,” said Ms Manning.

Mays Dawood and her friend Dalia Amer, Jordanians who live and work in Dubai, wore Gaga-esque outfits with platinum-blonde wigs, sunglasses and red lipstick.

Ms Dawood, 23, said she believed Gaga came to Dubai at the request of its many fans of hers and its multicultural nature.

She said she has been waiting “too long” for her favourite star to come to the Dubai.

“Whenever she dropped an album, I kept praying she would come here,” said Ms Dawood.

The concert was organised by AMI Live entertainment company.