Lady Gaga’s critically-acclaimed (and award show-nominated) turn in A Star Is Born isn’t the most recent time she’s stepped into someone else’s shoes. Just shy of Oscars season, Lady Gaga has found a brand-new alter-ego, and she’s as mysterious as they come.
World, meet Enigma: Gaga’s latest brainchild who shares a name with the pop star’s upcoming Las Vegas residency.
Though the residency is still weeks away — it’s set to kickoff at the the Monte Carlo Hotel's Park Theater December 28 — Gaga has teased the new character (or, rather, newly-discovered side to herself) in a number of social media posts.
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In one video, she tells someone just off camera:
“You can call me Gaga. Or Stephanie. Or… Enigma,” Gaga/Stephanie/Enigma instructs.
Merriam-Webster defines enigma as “an inscrutable or mysterious person,” which makes a lot of sense given all the questions we still have about Gaga’s creation.
Other videos tagged #Enigma include Gaga in what appears to be a motion capture suit. In one video, Gaga is in that suit, sobbing and rocking back and forth. In another, she’s in full-on club mode. Could the “Born This Way” singer’s new residency include video elements that feature a digital character named Enigma, hence the motion capture?
Right now, it’s pure speculation — and, with a character whose name literally means mysterious, there’s no way that Gaga is going to spell it out for us. (Refinery29 has reached out to Gaga for comment.)
However this new alter-ego is folded into the mix, it’s proof that the singer is, at least in some respects, going back to her original pop star roots. Yes, she may have earned Serious Actor Credit thanks to her starring turn in Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut, but A Star Is Born Ally Lady Gaga is not. This is a woman who loves a good spectacle so much, she showed up to the Grammys in an egg.
"I can’t wait to share Enigma with all of my fans and with Las Vegas. We’re creating a show unlike anything I’ve done before. It will be a celebration of all that is unique and different within us," Gaga shared of her Vegas show via press statement. "The challenges of bravery can be overcome with creativity and courage that is grown out of adversity, love and music."
Whoever Enigma is — let's hope she helps provide the theatrics Gaga clearly still craves.