Lady Gaga has always been a huge fan of the late singer David Bowie, and on February 13, two days before her 2016 Grammys tribute to Bowie, she showed her love for the artist when she was inked with his image above her left ribcage. Her tattoo is of his face from the cover of his Aladdin Sane album and includes the iconic lightning bolt across his face and a star in one of his pupils.
Gaga, 29-years-old, shared a series of Snapchat videos with her fans while she was getting tattooed. Legendary tattoo artist Mark Mahoney inked the pop star at his shop in West Hollywood, the Shamrock Social Club, according to People . Gaga’s visit to the tattoo shop drew a crowd.
A Lady Gaga fan account on Twitter also shared videos of Gaga getting tattooed.
Lady Gaga is currently getting a tattoo of David Bowie by Mark Mahoney?? pic.twitter.com/P9KwDbjXW3
— Lady Gaga | ARTPOP (@stevenartpop) February 14, 2016
Lady Gaga’s new tattoo is nestled in between tattoos she already has on the left side of her body.
Lady Gaga captioned one photo of her tattoo, “This was the image that changed my life,” and captioned another, “Hail Mary full of grace Saint Bowie.” On one photo she wrote, “Blackstar.”
The Daily Mail reports Gaga’s new David Bowie tattoo is her eighteenth one so far. Gaga also has a trumpet tattoo on her upper right arm, but in the past she said during a Google Q&A that she will only be inked on the left side of her body to honor her father’s wishes, according to the Daily Mail.
“He asked that I remain, on one side, slightly normal. So I only have my tattoos on my left side. I think he sees [my right] as my Marilyn Monroe side, and he sees [my left] as my Iggy Pop side.”
Bowie died last month on January 10 at the age of 69 following a battle with cancer. He will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s Grammys posthumously. Shortly before Bowie’s death, Gaga gushed about the performer to The Hollywood Reporter.
“When I fell in love with David Bowie, when I was living on the Lower East Side, I always felt that his glamour was something he was using to express a message to people that was very healing for their souls. He is a true, true artist and I don’t know if I ever went, ‘Oh, I’m going to be that way like this,’ or if I arrived upon it slowly, realizing it was my calling and that’s what drew me to him.”
. @ladygaga Just Got A Huge David Bowie Tattoo https://t.co/gZVdOu12Zb pic.twitter.com/jPKOVfRx4v
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) February 14, 2016
Grammy Awards’ executive producer Ken Ehrlich revealed Lady Gaga was instantly decided as the perfect fit for a tribute to Bowie . She is an artist who’s clearly been influenced by Bowie. After his death, organizers asked Gaga to perform a medley of his hit songs during the tribute.
“We had already booked Lady Gaga on this year’s show, but when David passed — almost in a single moment — we knew we had to change direction,” Ehrlich told Variety . “We immediately spoke and agreed that she should be the one to honor David. She’s perfect for it. So I reached to Nile and, before long, we were on our way to creating what we believe will not only make a great Grammy moment, but one fitting of David.”
Ehrlich also shared that Gaga’s tribute will not open the Grammys but will last six or seven minutes and cover three or four Bowie songs.
The performance “is going to be a true homage to who David was, particularly musically, but not ignoring his influence on fashion and pop culture in a broader way,” Ehrlich added.
In an interview with CBS News about her powerful new song, “Til It Happens to You,” Lady Gaga told the news outlet, “I’m always trying to make people uncomfortable, and take them out of the comfort zone of what they create, and try to encourage them to change their process…”
When you think about it, isn’t that the same thing David Bowie did? He took people out of their comfort zone in the name of creativity and art, and also gave the “misfits” and “outcasts” a home and a place where they felt like they belonged. It isn’t any wonder then, that Lady Gaga has been so strongly influenced by him as she has done the same for her fans.
The Grammys air live on CBS from Los Angeles on February 15.
What do you think of Lady Gaga’s latest tattoo?
[Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images]
