A Bangkok Lady Gaga fan group is turning heads around town with impromptu flashmob dance-offs in preparation for the superstar’s massively anticipated Born This Way Ball concert here on May 25.
The last gathering of the Little Monsters (as Gaga’s fans are called) on March 24 saw 88 fully costumed dancers perform at Central World, to the confusion and delight of passers-by. The official video of the spectacle is below – it really gets going around the 2:00 mark.
The fan group, called “Thailand Loves Lady Gaga”, was started on Facebook by hardcore fan Maneenoot “Aom” Sutheesun, 28, in 2010 and now boasts over 16,000 members. Aom has even secured TrueMove-H as a sponsor for the next flash mob, which will happen on a date to be determined closer to the day of the show. She expects over 300 dancers at the next one.
Aom first heard lady Gaga a few years ago in her brother’s car and her life has been changed since. She started the fan group to connect with other Little Monsters in Thailand and recently she’s even been interviewed by Channel 3 and won a trip to see Lady Gaga in Korea from Singha Corporation.
It seems as if Thailand has a special connection with Gaga, with her “Born This Way” message of loving and celebrating who you are (regardless of who you are) resonating with the country’s gay and katoeycommunities. Gaga has made fighting youth bullying her pet issue, even starting a Born This Way Foundation in the US that aims to “empower kids and nurture a more congenial environment in and out of schools” in the words of New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof. We think it’s pretty cool that rather than championing some obscure cause or conflict like many celebs, Gaga has focused on a universal issue and affected change by asking people to become more aware, rather than simply asking for money.
“Lady Gaga taught me to love myself,” says Best, 14-years-old and one of the core members of the fan club. “She’s taught me that I am beautiful in my own way.” Best, who’s favorite Gaga song his “Money Honey”, saved up for a THB7,000 pit ticket to the show, a massive expense for a concert in Thailand. He hasn’t decided on his outfit for the concert yet, but will check out Aom’s photos from the Korea concert to see what the latest Little Monsters trends are and imitate them. He says he screamed when he first heard that Gaga was coming to perform in Bangkok.
Toon, 26, has similar praise for the about the superstar. “I love Lady Gaga. When I’m feeling bad I listen to her and she gives me power. I love how she’s quite weird. There are so many things in her head that need to be released,” she says. Toon also has a THB7,000 ticket and her favorite Lady Gaga song is “Bad Romance.”
The gang is all staying together at a hotel near Rajamangala Stadium on the night of the show. They will arrive at the stadium in the morning to be the first inside when the doors open to secure the best seating.
But before then they will gather for another flash mob, the biggest yet. So be on the look out for Little Monsters.
