Lady Gaga at SXSW

Lady Gaga at SXSW, An oversized roasting spit. Erotic maneuvers on a mechanical bull. Fake vomit. And that was all in the first 15 minutes. Pop superstar Lady Gaga brought her theatrical musical road show to the South by Southwest music festival Thursday evening, rousing up a crowd that had made mini-sacrifices to see the star.

The one-hour show, sponsored by Doritos to benefit the performer’s Born This Way Foundation, drew more than 2,000 enthusiasts to the open-air patio stage of Stubb’s BBQ in downtown Austin. To get into the free show, fans had to perform a “Doritos Bold Mission” – such as change their Facebook relationship status to an untruth or share a piece of clothing with a stranger – then share the act on social media in order to be eligible for a ticket.

The show kicks off a two-day Doritos-sponsored concert series at SXSW with artists such as Far East Movement and Ludacris.

On Thursday night, band mates wheeled out Lady Gaga onstage hog-tied to a large roasting spit – an apparent nod to Central Texas’ BBQ culture – from where she sang her first song, Aura. Dressed in a black bikini and fishnet stockings, she rocked through the song with her band.

“I’ve been having such a good time all week,” she said. “I haven’t showered. I’ve been drinking all week. And eating.” Then she launched into Manicure, swinging her blond dreads as green lasers raked across the smoke-filled stage.

She doused herself with Lone Star beer. She sprayed the crowd with water from a bottle. She urged the mostly young, tech-savvy crowd to put away their cell phones and enjoy the performance. “Do me a favor and don’t post this show,” she said.

Lady Gaga Song Released

Lady Gaga Song Released, Lady Gaga has released the first single off her forthcoming album a week early because the song was circulating on the Internet, the BBC reports.

The song, “Applause,” a dance track, was originally scheduled to be released on Aug. 19, but the singer, declaring on Twitter that a “pop music emergency is underway,” gave the track to radio stations in the United States on Monday and hours later began selling it on iTunes. The decision came after low-quality versions of the song popped up on the Web on Saturday.

Music industry executives predict that the song will rack up well over 400,000 digital sales in its first week, Billboard reports. Katy Perry’s new single, “Roar,” also released this week, is expected to break that threshold as well.

Leaks are a fact of life for modern pop stars, and it is rare for a single or an album to remain completely under wraps until its release date. Beyonce, Katy Perry and Jay Z have all seen new songs leak online this year before they were ready to put them out.