Lady Gaga VMAs 2020
AUGUST 2020: Lady Gaga accepts the Song of the Year award for “Rain on Me” onstage during the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards, broadcast on Sunday, August 30th 2020. (Photo by Kevin Winter/MTV VMAs 2020/Getty Images for MTV)

Words: Chloe Watts

Ever since she hit the airwaves in 2008 with The Fame, Lady Gaga has championed inclusivity, embracing your own uniqueness and speaking out on social justice issues. While she’s come a long way from the blonde blunt fringe that took the music industry by storm in ‘Just Dance,’ over the past 12 years she has remained true to herself and her fans. This was on full display tonight when she took the time in her Artist of the Year Award speech to tell viewers a story about her first trip to California.

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Wearing a silver sequin bodysuit with matching face mask and a white feather coat, Gaga reflected, “I remember when I first came out to California, after I built this small following in New York… I would be taken out to these fancy dinners with executives who wanted to sign me and I remember, I never ever ordered anything more than a whiskey neat or a large sake, if we were at a Japanese bar and I remember that they used to ask me, “Hey LG why aren’t you eating?” and I would say, because I didn’t come for the California roll”. She continued her acceptance speech with explaining what music has meant to her over the years and finished with a key piece of advice to her fans. “If you want to win an award like this, don’t eat the California roll, so they know you mean business!”

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Gaga was also honored with the first ever Tricon Award, a new category that recognizes an artist who is highly accomplished over three or more disciplines. Accepting the award in a second silver ensemble, the singer spoke about the importance of following your dreams, not letting failure win and giving back to the community. Keeping true to her inclusive ways, Gaga turned the speech back onto the audience, reminding everyone at home that they are their own version of a Tricon. She also asked everyone to think of three things that define who they are and reward themselves for their bravery. “This has not been an easy year for a lot of people. But what I see in the world is a massive triumph of courage.” Gaga shared with the audience, as she continued “I also hope that people at home that have big dreams, I hope they see me here today accepting this award and know how grateful I am.”

Along with the plethora of awards she took home (five to be exact) she also blew everyone away with countless outfit changes and matching face masks, because safety first.