SINGAPORE (SCMP): American pop icon Lady Gaga will perform four shows in Singapore in May during her latest concert tour’s only stop in Asia, the city state’s Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong has revealed.
This comes after Singapore last year reportedly brokered a US$2 million to US$3 million deal for Taylor Swift to perform six shows in exchange for keeping the concerts exclusive to Singapore in South-East Asia, drawing criticism in the region, including from then Thai prime minister Srettha Thavisin.
This Week in Asia has contacted Tong’s ministry, the Singapore Tourism Board and Singapore Sports Hub to ask if a similar deal was made for Lady Gaga.
Tong on Monday said in a social media post: “We have had a blockbuster 2024 with an incredible lineup of some of the most popular global artists performing at our Sports Hub.”
He added that the team at Kallang Alive Sport Management, the corporate entity established by his ministry, was “always on the hunt and proactively hustling to bring the best sporting and lifestyle events into the Sports Hub”.
The singer will hold the concerts at the Singapore National Stadium on May 18, 19, 21 and 24. Ticket sales start on March 18 with several presales on offer.
Lady Gaga released her seventh studio album, Mayhem, on Friday. She last performed in Singapore in 2012 for her Born This Way Ball Tour.
American pop star Lady Gaga will be back in Singapore to perform at the National Stadium on May 18, 19, 21 and 24, her only concerts in Asia. Ticket pre-sales start on March 18 and general sales start on March 21. Prices have not been announced.
In 2024, besides the sold-out Taylor Swift concerts Singapore also hosted top stars such as Coldplay, Imagine Dragon, K-Pop queen BOA, Charlie Puth, Indian music maestro Anirudh, 2NE1 and many others.
Tong said in a social media post on March 10 that the Kallang Alive Sport Management (KASM) team has been working closely and directly with concert organiser Live Nation to bring the singer to Singapore.
“Since the Government took back control of the Sports Hub, the team has been forward-looking, proactive and hustling hard to bring some of the world’s best lifestyle and sporting events to Singapore.
"This is what we had envisioned for the Kallang Alive Masterplan - to develop a top tier sports, entertainment and lifestyle hub,” he says.
According to KASM, more than 200,000 local and international fans are expected at the concerts.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group’s rewards programme KrisFlyer, the official lifestyle rewards partner for the shows, will commence its presale on March 20. Members will get priority access to Categories 1 to 9 tickets and can redeem miles for tickets in Categories 1 to 6.
Travel booking platform Klook is the official experience partner and its users have access to presale tickets from March 19. They can also buy packages, starting from $589, that include a pair of tickets and one- or two-night stay at four- or five-star hotels.
Although it is not linked to the Lady Gaga concerts in any official capacity, Pullman Singapore Hill Street leveraged on the announcement on March 10 to advertise its stay packages by highlighting that the hotel is a 10-minute drive from the National Stadium.
It was also reported in The Straits Times that Lady Gaga is the latest international act to choose Singapore as her only regional stop.
In March 2024, American pop star Taylor Swift held six sold-out concerts at the National Stadium, her only shows in South-east Asia.
It was later revealed that Singapore, led by Mr Tong, had orchestrated a deal to ensure that the country was the only regional stop of her record-breaking The Eras Tour. Her only other Asian concerts were held in Tokyo, Japan in February 2024.
Lady Gaga, 38, last played in Singapore during her three-night stop at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in 2012, as part of her global Born This Way Ball tour.
She also staged a concert at Fort Canning Park in 2009 and did two exclusive showcase performances for local telco Singtel in the same year at Clarke Quay and in 2011 at Marina Bay Sands.
Lady Gaga released her seventh solo studio album Mayhem on March 7. It was preceded by the release of two singles, Disease and Abracadabra. It also includes Die With A Smile, the Grammy-winning hit duet with American singer Bruno Mars which was the 10th most streamed song on Spotify in 2024.
In an interview with radio station Apple Music 1, she told host Zane Lowe that she cannot wait to take to the road with Mayhem. She described the album as having an “electro grunge influence” – “some songs were industrial, some were like 2000 throwbacks”.
She added: “Mayhem is also all these Gothic dreams. It’s like all of my dark dreams, and all of the different things they mean, and how they come alive, and it’s all in one place, and it’s total mayhem, and it’s completely me, and it’s my gift to my fans.”
Other than headlining American music festival Coachella on April 11 and 18, the singer will be staging a show in Mexico City in Mexico on April 26 and playing a free concert in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on May 3. She has not indicated if these shows, including the Singapore stops, are part of an official world tour to promote Mayhem.
Her last tour was The Chromatica Ball (2022), in support of her solo album Chromatica (2020).
She recently played double duty as host and performer on American sketch show Saturday Night Live on March 8, and on March 17, she will receive the iHeartRadio Innovator Award of 2025.
Lady Gaga is also an accomplished actress who has appeared in films like musical drama A Star Is Born (2018), biopic House Of Gucci (2021) and musical drama Joker: Folie A Deux (2024).
The A Star Is Born soundtrack, which includes the chart-topping song Shallow, won her an Oscar, Grammy, Bafta and Golden Globe – making her the first woman to win at these awards shows in one year.
Tong says in a statement that the KASM team is excited for her Singapore exclusive.
“Lady Gaga is one of the most internationally acclaimed artistes in the world. She has broad appeal to audiences, with a diverse musicality range spanning across different genres coupled with a commanding stage presence in her live shows.”
KASM chairman Keith Magnus adds that the concerts are a “milestone” that will transform the Kallang Alive Precinct into “a powerhouse of live events” that fuels the economy, creates jobs and energises the industry, according to The Straits Times.
“We are not just hosting events – we are shaping the landscape of entertainment in Singapore. As the nation’s tip of the spear for sports and entertainment, KASM takes a bold, proactive approach in engaging global industry leaders, securing landmark deals and curating extraordinary experiences that place Singapore on the world stage.”
