Lady Gaga was the 2019 awards season gift we didn't deserve. She earned Best Actress and Best Original Song nominations for A Star Is Born at essentially every major show, including the Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, and the Oscars. She graced us with her presence at every ceremony, and thank God. In a season plagued with boring speeches and standard red-carpet looks, she was a shining light.
We knew Gaga's red-carpet looks would be on point—this is Lady Gaga, after all—but we had no idea how many hilarious, instantly iconic moments would come from her at each show. Take a look at them, below:
Let's start with the Oscars, the biggest awards show of the season. She and Bradley Cooper performed "Shallow," and it was beautiful.
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She also took home the Oscar for Best Original Song. For "Shallow," obviously. "If you have a dream, fight for it," she said in her speech. "I've worked hard for a long time, and it's not about winning…. It's about how many times you stand up and are brave and keep on going."
She used a commercial break to help Best Actor winner Rami Malek with his tie. Who needs a stylist when Lady Gaga is around?
A Star Is Born also won Best Original Music at the BAFTAs—and Gaga's reaction was so tender. She posted a photo of herself in tears alongside this caption: "I can’t believe we just won Best Original Music @BAFTA's. I wish so much I was there but am at the Grammy’s to show them our love as well. We made a film about music. This means the world to me. Thank u to all our fans we love u so much, we wouldn’t be here without u #BAFTAs."
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Speaking of Grammys: She won something before the show even began. It was Best Song Written for Visual Media ("Shallow," A Star Is Born), and she tweeted another heartfelt message to celebrate. "I’m not gonna be able to wear any makeup tonight," she wrote. "We just won our first of Grammy nominations for the night. I’m in tears with honor and gratitude. Thank you @RecordingAcad #Grammys #Grammy and my co-writers and Bradley I love you so much thank you."
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She also won the Best Pop Solo Performance trophy for "Joanne (Where Do You Think You're Goin'?)" and tweeted her gratitude:
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Gaga was, naturally, showstopping throughout the actual Grammys. Her performance of "Shallow" was a highlight.
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As was her acceptance speech for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, during which she addressed mental health. "I'm so proud to be a part of a movie that addresses mental health issues," she said. "They're so important. And a lot of artists deal with that, and we've got to take care of each other. So if you see somebody that's hurting, don't look away. And if you're hurting, even though it might be hard, try to find that bravery within yourself to dive deep and go tell somebody and take them up in your head with you."
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She also had hilariously awkward moment with Ryan Seacrest on the red carpet. Long story short: Gaga called Seacrest out for not actually asking her a question on the carpet.
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But let's now rewind to the Golden Globes, where she rolled in looking like pop-star Cinderella. Translation: A Disney princess who once ate doll heads in concert.
The Internet quickly noticed similarities between Gaga's Globes dress and something Judy Garland wore in the 1954 version of A Star Is Born. A red-carpet reporter asked Gaga about this, and she had no idea what people were talking about. Naturally, her response became a meme.
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Here's that full interview, if you want to watch:
Then, inside the actual show, hosts Andy Samberg and Sandra Oh made jokes about Gaga's "100 people in a room" sound bite. For context: In basically every interview promoting A Star Is Born, Gaga raved about how Bradley Cooper had faith in her by saying, "There can be 100 people in a room and 99 don't believe in you, but all it takes is just one." When Oh and Samberg made their crack, Gaga just laughed and said, "It's true." We love a self-aware pop queen.
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Moving on to the Critics' Choice Awards, a very boring event made delightful by one Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta. How did she do this, you ask? In many ways. We'll begin with this video of Rachel Bloom's mother hugging Gaga and promptly freaking the fuck out.
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The way she smiled and screamed with glee? Wow, I felt that. (Entertainment Tonight has the full interview.)
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Or how about when Gaga tied with Glenn Close for Best Actress? The first thing she said in her speech was, "I spilled water all over myself." She is you. She is me.
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What the hell are she and Regina King doing in this photo? Praying? Telepathically transferring their talents? I have no idea, but it's flawless and I'm sad I wasn't there.
And then, of course, there are the photos Glenn and Gaga took in the press room. Here's what they talked about, in my mind:
Glenn: Me? A legend?
Gaga: Yes, you.
Glenn: Can I just say Artpop is vastly underrated and deserved better?
Gaga: Yes, you can. Come here. [They embrace.]
Gaga: I say, "I want your love, and I want your revenge." You say:
Glenn: You and me could write a bad romance.
Let's take a quick detour to a nontelevised event, The National Board of Review Awards Which took place at the beginning of January, but Gaga still showed up in this outfit:
Who needs a coat when you have the love of every gay man under 30 to keep warm?
Next up is the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Gaga didn't win Best Actress, but she was the MVP of the evening, hands down. Can we talk about how she stood up for everyone who won?
Emily Blunt? She stood up.
Susan Kelechi Watson? She stood up.
Glenn Close? She stood up (though, to be fair, so did everyone).
But she also stood up for the This Is Us kids and gave them all high-fives (???).
She stans them, apparently. So does she watch the show? Does she have opinions on that whole Crock Pot debacle?
I don't know who she's standing up for here, but notice everyone else is sitting. Gaga was so supportive at the SAGs and, well, I support that.
She also took this photo with Ricky Martin. So, clearly, they have to collaborate. Or appear in the next season of American Horror Story together. Ryan Murphy, are you listening?
The Oscar nominees luncheon happened on February 4 in Los Angeles. Obviously, Gaga was there and, obviously, she was the best part of the whole damn thing. Exhibit A: The way she's holding her arms in this photo.
Exhibit B: This video of her slyly looking at a man's phone. Don't act like you haven't done this to strangers.
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I can't wait to see what she does next.
Christopher Rosa is the entertainment writer at Glamour. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrosa92.
