The Ballroom Scene is an African-American and Latino underground LGBTQ+ subculture that originated in New York City. Beginning in the late 20th century, Black and Latino drag queens began to organize their own pageants in opposition to racism experienced in established drag queen pageant circuits. Though racially integrated for the participants, the judges of these circuits were mostly white people. While the initial establishment of Ballroom mimicked these drag queen pageants, the inclusion of gay men and trans women would transform the Ballroom scene into what it is today: a multitude of categories that all LGBTQ+ people can participate in. Attendees "walk" these categories for trophies and cash prizes. Most participants in Ballroom belong to groups known as "houses", where chosen families of friends form relationships and communities separate from their families of origin, from which they may be estranged.
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and versatility in the entertainment industry. Gaga began performing as a teenager, singing at open mic nights and acting in school plays. She studied at Collaborative Arts Project 21, through the New York University Tisch School of the Arts, before dropping out to pursue a career in music. After Def Jam Recordings canceled her contract, she worked as a songwriter for Sony/ATV Music Publishing, where she signed a joint deal with Interscope Records and KonLive Distribution, in 2007. Gaga had her breakthrough the following year with her debut studio album, The Fame, and its chart-topping singles "Just Dance" and "Poker Face". The album was later reissued to include the extended play The Fame Monster (2009), which yielded the successful singles "Bad Romance", "Telephone", and "Alejandro".
"Beautiful, Dirty, Rich" is a song by American singer–songwriter Lady Gaga from her debut studio album, The Fame (2008). It was released as a promotional single from the album on September 16, 2008. Written by the singer and its producer Rob Fusari in 2006, it is an uptempo dance-pop and disco-funk song that makes heavy use of synthesizers. The lyrics focus on Gaga's experiences as a struggling artist in the Lower East Side.
"Paparazzi" is a song by American singer Lady Gaga from her debut studio album, The Fame (2008). It was released as the album's fifth and final single by Interscope Records. Gaga wrote and produced the song with Rob Fusari. The song portrays Gaga's struggles in her quest for fame, as well as balancing success and love. Musically, it is an uptempo synth-pop and dance-pop ballad whose lyrics describe a stalker following somebody to grab attention and fame.
Hitmixes is the second extended play (EP) by American singer Lady Gaga, released on August 25, 2009. Featuring remixes of songs from Gaga's debut album, The Fame (2008), the album was only released in Canada, by Universal Music Canada. Hitmixes features mixes from various musicians, including RedOne and Space Cowboy, who previously worked with Gaga. The EP hosts 1980s-influenced and house remixes. Hitmixes received positive reviews from the Calgary Herald and Blare Magazine, and peaked at number eight on the Canadian Albums Chart.
"Telephone" is a song by American singer Lady Gaga from her third extended play (EP), The Fame Monster (2009)—the reissue of her debut studio album, The Fame (2008). Featuring American singer Beyoncé, it was released as the EP's second single in January 2010. Gaga and Rodney Jerkins wrote and produced "Telephone", with additional songwriting by LaShawn Daniels, Lazonate Franklin and Beyoncé. Gaga originally wrote the song for Britney Spears, who recorded a demo. "Telephone" represents Gaga's fear of not finding time for fun given the increasing pressure for her to work harder as an artist. Musically, the song consists of an expanded bridge, verse-rap and a sampled voice of an operator announcing that the phone line is unreachable. Beyoncé appears in the middle of the song, singing the verses in a "rapid-fire" way, accompanied by double beats.
Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden is a 2011 concert special which documents the February 21 and 22, 2011 shows of American pop singer Lady Gaga's worldwide concert tour, The Monster Ball Tour. Filmed at Madison Square Garden in Gaga's hometown of New York City, the two-hour special was directed by the singer's choreographer Laurieann Gibson and produced by HBO. It was first broadcast on the channel on May 7, 2011, a day after Gaga's last date of The Monster Ball Tour. The special was released on November 21, 2011, on DVD and Blu-ray by Media Blasters.
Born This Way: The Collection is the second compilation album by American singer Lady Gaga, released on November 18, 2011, by Interscope Records. The three-disc set includes her second studio album Born This Way, the remix album Born This Way: The Remix, and the DVD Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden. Photographer Nick Knight shot the cover of the release, which showed Gaga wearing a dress made of slime by designer Bart Hess. The box set was enclosed as a digipak with new booklets. The release received positive feedback from reviewers, but had minor commercial success, only entering charts in Greece, Italy, and South Korea.
Founded in 1982, the House of Xtravaganza is one of the most publicly recognized “houses” to emerge from the New York City underground ballroom scene and among the longest continuously active. House of Xtravaganza members and the collective group is recognized for their cultural influence in the areas of dance, music, visual arts, nightlife, fashion, and community activism. House of Xtravaganza members continue to be featured in popular media and travel the world as ambassadors of voguing and the ballroom scene.
Mariah Paris Balenciaga, or simply known as Mariah, is the stage name of Elijah A. Kelly, an American drag queen and television personality, best known for competing on the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race (2011) and the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (2020). Since appearing on the show, she has been featured in a number of web series produced by World of Wonder, such as Wait, What?, Transformations, and Fashion Photo RuView. Balenciaga released her first single, "Mug 4 Dayz", on November 19, 2013.
"G.U.Y." is a song by American singer Lady Gaga from her third studio album, Artpop (2013). She co-wrote and co-produced the song with Zedd. It debuted on French radio as the album's third and final single on March 23, 2014. "G.U.Y." was developed while Gaga was touring with her Born This Way Ball, and was recorded a number of times for the final version. It is an EDM track containing elements of industrial, contemporary R&B, and house music whose lyrics address a number of subjects like sexual dominance, submission, and gender roles.
Lady Gaga Live at Roseland Ballroom was the first concert residency by American singer Lady Gaga. Performed at the Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan, New York, the residency began on March 28 and concluded on April 7, 2014, after completing seven shows. It was the final event hosted by the venue after it was announced that it was being closed down and being replaced with a 42-story skyscraper. Gaga revealed that Roseland was the only venue in New York City that she had never played, although she had visited there previously to watch shows. A poster announcing the event was released, showing an old image of Gaga taken before the time she became successful as a recording artist.
"Thirsty" is a promotional single by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey from her fourteenth studio album, Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse. It was co-written by Carey in collaboration with Hit-Boy, Denesia Andrews and MaryAnn Tatum. Carey and Hit-Boy also produced it, with co-production from Rey Reel. The alternate version of "Thirsty", featuring one rap verse from American rapper Rich Homie Quan, received its radio premiere on Power 105.1 on May 13, 2014, a day before the album version featuring just Carey was made available to stream. It has been described as a "club-friendly" R&B song influenced by hip hop, which makes use of a minimal synth beat.
Leiomy Maldonado, known as the "Wonder Woman of Vogue", is a transgender Afro-Puerto Rican dancer, instructor, model, activist, and ballroom dancer. She is the founder of the House of Amazon and best known for her voguing. Maldonado introduced a new style of voguing which is more athletic and dramatic when she entered into the scene in early 2000s New York.
Luke Calleja, professionally known as Kronic is an Australian DJ, record producer, songwriter and remixer. He is most known for producing and co-writing Lil Jon’s Bend Ova. His remix and production credits includes records for Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, R Kelly, Austin Mahone, Lil Jon, Pitbull, Enrique Iglesias and Nervo. He released his debut EP "Sophisticated Ignorance" in 2016. In 2017 his collaboration with Far East Movement and Savage, Push, was used in the trailer for the upcoming "The Fast And The Furious" film, which premiered to over 100 million viewers during the 2017 Super Bowl.
Mother Juan Aviance is an American secretary, voguer / dancer, music artist, nightclub host / promoter, record label owner, and CEO / A&R. He is the founder and "Mother" of the House of Aviance, one of the legendary houses that emerged from the U.S. ball culture in the 1980s, a House which is still active today and "currently reigns the club scene in New York City." He is also founder, CEO and A&R of Aviance Records, LLC, a multi-genre record label that promotes new and upcoming artists. He is regarded as a "legend / icon" within the ballroom scene and is "House Mother" to the nightlife personalities and recording artists Kevin Aviance, and Erickatoure Aviance.
My House is a documentary/reality series focusing on ball culture in New York City. It follows Tati 007, Alex Mugler, Jelani Mizrahi, Lolita Balenciaga, Relish Milan, and the commentator Precious Ebony. The series premiered on Viceland on April 25, 2018, and consists of ten episodes.
Legendary is an American voguing reality competition streaming television series, exploring the world of ball culture. It premiered on HBO Max on May 27, 2020. The series follows LGBT house members—predominantly from eight to ten houses—as they navigate through nine balls, with US$100,000 prize for the winning house. As such, the series was praised by GLAAD for featuring queer and trans artists "from the New York ballroom scene."
Michael Cox, known by the stage name MikeQ, is an American DJ, musician, music producer, and prominent figure in the ballroom community. He is the founder of the record label Qween Beat. In 2020 MikeQ was the DJ for HBO's Legendary.
Dashaun Wesley is an American dancer, actor, choreographer, and ballroom performer, MC, and commentator. He is known for hosting the voguing competition series Legendary and for his appearances on the television series America's Best Dance Crew and Pose. He is often called the "King of Vogue".
