Monster’s Ball bankrupted Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga stunned her dad when she revealed she was broke after pouring her millions into the stage set for her 2009 Monster’s Ball world tour. The Poker Face singer admits she put her $3 million (GBP1.9 million) savings into the design to give her fans the best live experience – and to impress a very important promoter.
In a new documentary, which debuts on U.S. TV this week (beg17Mar14), Gaga explains, “I was bankrupt during the show. I had $3 million in the bank to my name and I threw it all in to make my stage.
“I remember I went home and I was with my dad, and he said, ‘I don’t understand, Bad Romance is out, you’re all over the radio, everyone is talking about you and you don’t have a pot to p**s in’.
“I said, ‘Just let me do this, let me just put it on the stage because I think if I can do this I think I can get Arthur Fogel’s attention.”
Fogel is the Live Nation mastermind who manages U2 and Madonna’s tours.
The gamble paid off – Fogel was impressed with Gaga’s efforts and has since signed on to manage her tour next tour, which raked in over $220 million (GBP137.5 million) and became one of the most profitable concert treks of all time.
She says, “Everybody said it couldn’t happen… Everybody said he was crazy… I remember he called me and he said, ‘We wanna do this,’ and he got Live Nation to write me a $40 million cheque. It changed my life and the life of my whole family.”
Lady Gaga will kick off a new world tour on 4 May (14).