TORONTO - Lady Gaga's never-ending Monster Ball Tour got a sweet-sounding Canadian pick-me-up in the form of 10-year-old Winnipeg singer Maria Aragon on Thursday night at the Air Canada Centre.
Especially since her Ladyship started the show an hour and 10 minutes later than scheduled in front of a sold-out crowd that alternated between chanting, "Gaga! Gaga!" and booing, while they cooled their heels.
Aragon joined the mega pop-dance star about half-way through the concert for a shared version of Gaga's latest hit, Born This Way, after becoming a YouTube sensation - 17 million hits and counting - with her online version of the "be yourself" anthem just over two weeks ago.
The Grade 5 student's charming vocal-and-piano rendition lead to high praise from the Lady herself, an invitation to join her in Toronto for a duet, and appearances on Ellen and Good Morning America.
"Hi everybody," said a black sequined pants-and-white-hat wearing Maria, after Gaga had introduced her, hugged her and promptly put her on her lap in front of a piano.
"Maria's here tonight because Maria represents what the song is all about," added Gaga.
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"Who styled you today?" asked Gaga.
"My sister," said Maria, who didn't seem the least bit nervous and held up an stuffed orange monkey after a triumphant version of the song accompanied by Gaga on vocals.
"I just wanted to say, 'Hi, Lady Gaga," said Maria before addressing the audience. "I'm just really grateful for all of you. I just want to thank you for all of your suppport. And I'm actually from Winnipeg and I came over here to sing to you guys. And I want to say a shout out to all my fans and family in Winnipeg. And, after a while, I'll be up here again, so stay tuned!"
"Just knowing I touched one person is enough," said Gaga, who was in tears afterwards. "Look at me. She made me all (emotional). She's such a superstar."
Sure enough, Aragon appeared again on stage a second time as the show wrapped up for the plugged-in version of Born This Way complete with dancers and the band and took a bow alongside Gaga at the very end.
Aragon was a welcome sight as Thursday night's Monster Ball was Gaga's third appearance in T.O. in the last year and a half with very little in the way of changes to her highly theatrical and multi-costumed show in support of 2008's The Fame and 2009's The Fame Monster.
Sadly, there wasn't even a whiff of that now famous egg, or vessel as Gaga called it, that she claimed to have spent three days in before being carried down the Grammys red carpet in it leading up to her performance of Born This Way on the broadcast.
You've got to hand it to her: This girl's got a sense of humor.
Fans - her Little Monsters as she calls them- will also be glad to know that the 24-year-old New Yorker, who was born Stefani Germanotta, has promised she will launch a brand new tour, the Born This Way Ball, when the album of the same name, comes out on May 23.
As for Thursday's performance, it was most of the same sets, props, videos, and costumes as her two previous Monster Ball stops in Toronto.
Particularly good was the lime green car with crosses on its windows whose hood opened to reveal a keyboard on which Gaga played the opening introduction of the first highlight of the night, Just Dance.
"Toronto! Did you come to party?" said the singer-songwriter-pianist sporting some mighty bright flourescent yellow hair that matched the neon signs that decorated the scaffolding on set early in the show.
"Let's show Canada how much we missed them?" she yelled at her dancers.
"The Monster Ball will set you free Toronto!" claimed Gaga. "Tonight in Canada we're going to be super-free!"
Other visual, costume and song standouts were the subway set piece and naughty nun outfit that accompanied LoveGame, and Boys Boys Boys; the black bondage gear for Telephone,which followed Gaga phoning a member of the audience and inviting him for a drink afterwards; the flaming piano on which she performed another new song, You And I; her dramatic stage dive and crowd surfing during Alejandro; the large monster-like camera that hunted her during Paparazzi while the flaming boobies bra from the MuchMusic Video Awards of a few years ago made another appearance along with a flaming crotch; and, finally, the rotating silver sphere that encompassed her during the rabble rouser Bad Romance.
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