| A Very Gaga Thanksgiving | |
|---|---|
Title card |
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| Format | Variety |
| Directed by | Lady Gaga |
| Starring | Lady Gaga |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Lady Gaga Vincent Herbert Troy Carter Mo Morrison Rudy Bednar David Saltz |
| Producer(s) | Steven Johnson Nicole Ehrlich |
| Editor(s) | Mike Polito Joel Viertel |
| Running time | 90 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Factory Films Lincoln Square Productions |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Original airing | November 24, 2011 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
A Very Gaga Thanksgiving is a Thanksgiving television special that originally aired on November 24, 2011 in the United States on ABC. Conceived and directed by Lady Gaga, it discusses the personal life of Gaga and the inspiration behind her music. Development for A Very Gaga Thanksgiving immediately surfaced in November 2011, when it was announced that Gaga would host a television special on Thanksgiving. It features guest appearances from Katie Couric, Art Smith, and Tony Bennett. Gaga herself performed stripped down, acoustic versions of four songs from her second studio album, Born This Way, along with two Christmas songs and a duet with Bennett.
Television critics praised the ABC special, who expressed that it was sincere and unpretentious. Upon airing, it was viewed by 5.749 million viewers and attained a 1.8/5 rating in the 18–49 demographic, according to Nielson ratings, and was ABC's best rated thanksgiving special in the last five years. An extended play containing four of the songs performed on the special was released digitally, and was named A Very Gaga Holiday.
Contents |
Couric interviews Lady Gaga about her life and the inspiration behind her music at Convent of the Sacred Heart in Manhattan.[1][2] Gaga also performs eight songs to a small audience of friends and family, including "Born This Way", "Marry the Night", "You and I", "Hair" and "The Edge of Glory", as well as covers of Irving Berlin classic "White Christmas" and Nat King Cole's "Orange Colored Sky".[3][4][5] She also sings a duet with show tune artist Tony Bennett, which is a cover of Babes In Arms song "The Lady Is a Tramp".[6] Gaga sings "Bad Romance" onstage in a different scene.[7] American chef Art Smith accompanies Gaga with a turkey dinner and waffles.[4] In another scene, a small group of children gather around her as she blows glitter on them.[8]
Gaga conceived and directed the Thanksgiving Day television special herself.[9] Principal photography took place at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in New York City.[6] Gaga told Women's Wear Daily: "My dad will be so excited. I actually directed it. It’s the first of two things I directed. I directed this as well as the video for 'Marry The Night,' my new single.…So we'll be watching that and eating turkey and doing what all New Yorkers do, which is getting ready for every window to be filled with Christmas cheer the next day."[10]
A promotional photo of Gaga was released that shows her "going full ice princess", which Erin Strecker of Entertainment Weekly presumed will be her primary apparel.[11] In a press statement early in November 2011, Couric commented that the special's story will amaze viewers and show a different side of Gaga:
This is a chance to see more of who she is beneath the wild costumes and staged musical numbers ... Lady Gaga as a high school student still bruised by being excluded from the party, Lady Gaga as a devoted daughter and caring sister, Lady Gaga as a 25-year-old woman embracing fame and fortune that seemed to come overnight. She will impress you, delight you and surprise you.[12]
Smith commented that "It's important for people to see that this amazing woman [Gaga] has a family that supports her."[13] A 30-second preview of the special premiered on November 20, 2011 on Lady Gaga's YouTube channel.[14] It revealed the appearances of Bennett, Couric and Smith. After watching the preview, a staff member of Idolator commented that it "reminds us of our own family Turkey Day get-togethers: there are people running around in ridiculous attire, someone’s crying and the hostess is a (Mother) Monster of sorts."[15] Jesse Carp of Cinema Blend questioned how a pop recording artist like Gaga would fit into a traditional Thanksgiving special, but looked forward to watching it.[16] In a three-minute teaser trailer, Gaga makes crafts and shares holiday food with third-grade children.[7] The full TV special premiered on November 24, 2011, at 9:30 pm ET.[17]
A Very Gaga Thanksgiving initially aired on November 24, 2011 in the United States on ABC. It attained 5.749 million viewers and garnered a 1.8/5 rating in the 18–49 demographic in its first hour, despite airing simultaneously with a reruns of The Simpsons on FOX, Person of Interest on CBS, and The Secret Circle on The CW.[18] In its second hour, total viewership and ratings slightly declined to 5.388 million viewers and a 1.6/5 ratings in the 18–49 demographic, despite airing simultaneously with the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC and a rerun of The Mentalist on CBS.[18] A Very Gaga Thanksgiving had the highest rating in the 18–49 demographic in its time slot, and total viewership increased 23% (1.3 million viewers) from its preceder I Am... World Tour. It subsequently gave ABC its best ratings in four years for its respective time slot on Thanksgiving Day.[18][19]
It was met with general acclaim from television critics. Calling it engaging, Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly opined that A Very Gaga Thanksgiving was "disarmingly direct, sincere, and unpretentious."[20] Tucker praised Lady Gaga's performances in the television special, expressing that they were a "warm, low-key collection of solid performances of her hits and pop standards."[20] Dave Itzkoff of The New York Times deemed the television special as a "dream or a hallucination."[21] The Guardian journalist Hadley Freeman wrote, "It was all inoffensive, silly and knowing, and laid down the groundwork for what looks likely to be the singer's next career: as America's in-house eccentric, fearless enough to satirize the country's traditions but canny enough to know that while you can deface as many Irving Berlin songs as you like, the turkey is non-negotiable."[22] In contrast, A Very Gaga Thanksgiving was critically panned by Jen Carlson of Gothamist, who felt that it was a "very transparent marketing ploy for the new Gaga holiday release."[23]
The Washington Post's Sarah Anne Hughes stated that she was shocked at how traditional Gaga was in the television special.[24] Cavan Sieczkowski of International Business Times asserted that A Very Gaga Thanksgiving was a "charming throwback to holiday specials of times past." Sieczkowski praised the outfits, and drew comparisons to those of Elizabeth Taylor and Ava Gardner.[25] In concurrence, Joe Drake of Ology wrote: "This special was [fabulous]. I have nothing bad to say about it. Lady Gaga proves, yet again, that she is the artist of our generation. Her talent, beauty, personality and spirit make her such an incredible person to look up to and respect."[26]
| A Very Gaga Holiday | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP by Lady Gaga | ||||
| Released | November 22, 2011 | |||
| Recorded | 2011 | |||
| Genre | Pop, jazz | |||
| Length | 14:21 | |||
| Label | Streamline, Interscope, Kon Live | |||
| Lady Gaga chronology | ||||
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A Very Gaga Holiday is a live EP featuring audio of four performances from the special: "White Christmas", "Orange Colored Sky", "You and I", and "The Edge of Glory". It was made available for purchase on November 22, 2011, to the iTunes Store of United States.[27][28] An artwork for the EP was released and featured a shot of the "White Christmas" performance at the special. It shows Gaga wearing a white hood and a white fur coat singing to a golden microphone. The title A Very Gaga Holiday is written in golden italic cursive.[29]
Gaga covered "Orange Colored Sky" during a surprise appearance at The Oak Room in New York City on September 29, 2010, (wearing a dress made of hair) and again on January 5, 2011.[30] Brian Newman served as a guest performer on trumpet for performances at the Robin Hood Gala on May 9, 2011, to benefit the Robin Hood Foundation and at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in Carlisle, England on May 15, 2011.[31] She then performed it on the ABC special A Very Gaga Thanksgiving.[32] Along with "Orange Colored Sky", she also performed her variation of the original "White Christmas".[29] Gaga put emphasis on the jazz side of the song. She added a second verse to the song, after claiming "This song it's too short and it's a beautiful Christmas song, so I added a new extra [verse]". She describes a white snowman, to whom she is telling Santa Claus is on his way to him. In the end she finished by saying "Okay, so I suppose it's not very white outside yet."[29] On November 23, 2011, it was announced that both songs were included on a digital EP titled A Very Gaga Holiday, along with two other tracks: the stripped-down live versions of her 2011 singles, "The Edge of Glory" and "You and I", both from Gaga's second studio album, Born This Way.[28] The announcement happened after the grand opening of the Holiday Wonderland Gaga Workshop at Barneys New York.[29] It was only released in the United States to the iTunes Store and Amazon.[33][28]
Gaga's cover of "White Christmas" is a "jazzy rendition" and features an extra verse about a snowman.[34] Halfway into the cover, before beginning the new verse, Gaga says, "So as you can tell, I'm very outgoing and a little bit shy, but I've decided that this song is just too short. It's such a beautiful Christmas song but it's only one verse, so I added an extra one."[35] Her acoustic version of "The Edge of Glory" begins with a monologue, explaining her dedication of the song to her grandmother: "It's the second Thanksgiving I'm spending without my grandpa, and I wrote this song about him, so here it is. So Grandma, if you're watching at home, this one's for you."[29]
Amelia Proud of Daily Mail gave a negative review of the EP, saying that it was uninspiring, and that "Gaga could do well to look to one of her heroines, Kate Bush, who has released a festive album featuring a song about a love affair with a snowman, proving that at 53, she's still edgier than Gaga,,, and without the need of latex shoulders."[36]
In the United States, the EP debuted at number 52 on the Billboard 200 for the issue dated December 10, 2011.[37] Gaga's version of "White Christmas" entered the UK Singles Chart at number 87, for the issue dated December 3, 2011.[38] Gaga's version of "White Christmas" also entered the Belgium (Flanders) Singles Chart at number 86, for the issue dated December 24, 2011.[39] In Canada, it debuted at number 74 on the Canadian Albums Chart[40] and in France, it entered the Download Albums Chart at number 26.[41]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "White Christmas" | Irving Berlin | 3:22 |
| 2. | "Orange Colored Sky" | Milton DeLugg, Willie Stein | 2:33 |
| 3. | "You and I" | Lady Gaga | 3:34 |
| 4. | "The Edge of Glory" | Lady Gaga, Fernando Garibay, DJ White Shadow | 4:52 |
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Total length:
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14:21 | ||
| Country | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States[28] | November 22, 2011 | Digital download | Interscope Records |
| Worldwide[29] | November 26, 2011 |
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