Fresh from her sweep-off success at the recently concluded MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles more than a week ago and her 15-minute speech at a rally in Portland, ME last week in support of the revocation of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”  law for homosexual members of the military, Lady Gaga resumes her road work and even adds more dates to the itinerary, extending the tour till May 2011.

The new addition to the slate includes stops in 20 North American cities plus two city stops in Mexico to wrap things up.  The new dates will have the eclectic dance pop diva swing from coast to coast during March and April next year.

Meanwhile, the award winning artist is gearing up for a string of shows in Europe spanning for two and a half months.  The European leg of her “Monster Ball” tour will kick off with a two-nighter in Helsinki, Finland on October 13 and 14.  The leg also includes three-nighters in Dublin and Belfast, UK and another set of two-nighters in Zurich, Belgium, The Netherlands, Italy and London on December 16 and 17 which will mark the leg’s endpoint.  Gaga will resume performing in her home turf in New York on February 11, 2011 at the Madison Square Garden Arena.

Gaga is also expected to perform a track or two from her forthcoming release which is slated to come out early next year.  She announced the title of the new release, “Born this Way”, during her acceptance speech for Video of the Year honors at the MTV VMAs.  “Born this Way” will be Lady Gaga’s third record and her follow-up to “The Fame Monster”.

After announcing the title of her newest and third studio effort at the recently concluded MTV VMAs, Lady Gaga is all about it with the press, constantly talking about how the record speaks so much of her, her fans and how it can transform lives, or in her words, “it’s utter liberation”.

Speaking with RWD magazine, Gaga spoke about “Born this Way”, her follow-up to “The Fame Monster”, as a powerful, transformative and honest record.  “The album is my absolute greatest work I’ve ever done and I’m so excited about it,” the eccentric pop star said.  She also adds, “The message, the melodies, the direction, the meaning, what it will mean to my fans and what it will mean in my own life – it’s utter liberation.”

The artist gathers strength and inspiration from her life experiences and from fans who can relate to her and her life story.  “I knew I had an ability to change the world when I started to receive letters from fans: ‘You saved my life…’, ‘I’m gay and my parents threw me out…’…My fans have related to me as a human being and as a non-human being – as a super-human person that I truly am.”

She also draws a fine line between arrogance and confidence, to which she states that she is more of the latter.  “Everyone tells me I’m arrogant but my music’s the only thing I’ve got, so you’ll have to let me be confident about one thing. I suppose that’s what you can expect from the album: a lot of hit records that will piss people off,” Gaga stated.  Talk about daring to be different and being very good at it.

Even fellow musicians like Beyonce, with whom Gaga worked twice for “Videophone” and “Telephone”, is amazed on where does the 24-year old dance pop diva draw inspiration, motivation and ideas for songs.  “I don’t know Bee, it was just the way I was born’,” was the “Poker Face” singer’s modest reply to the “Single Ladies” artist.

A week from now, Justin Bieber will make his acting debut as a law-defying teen set to give the “CSI” guys a headache in the show’s season premiere.  Now rumors are spreading that Lady Gaga is the next big pop star to hit the set of the popular TV crime-drama franchise, but not the Las Vegas set, the Miami headquarters, that is.

According to “CSI: Miami”  star Eva La Rue, the rumors have been afloat for some time but no confirmation has been sent out yet, but she sure is excited, “I don’t know if we’re going to get her or not, but it would be awesome!”

“She doesn’t want to play herself from what I understand…She wants to be a character”, La Rue adds.  But of course, Gaga would simply steal the show if she was clad in a meat dress or plastic bubbles.  And if she wanted to see herself a multitude of times in the small screen, she could simply watch the “Theatricality” episode “Glee” came up with last season.  But let’s see how this pans out.

Meanwhile, another “CSI: Miami”  star, Emily Procter, is rooting for Mike “The Situation” Sorentino to grace the show.  This comes after the show featured a “Jersey Shore” inspired episode last spring.

“He’s so sweet and thoughtful and really works hard to do the right thing…It makes me happy for him,” Procter gushed.  And with that, The Situation can rest assured that he has Procter’s vote when he tries his luck on the dance floor in “Dancing with the Stars”.

Just when we thought we have seen everything about Lady Gaga, well, prepare your senses – actually just one, your sense of smell – as the award winning and chart topping artist is about to unleash a scent that promises to be as extravagant and flamboyant as she is.

The Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) website broke the news of Gaga’s new entrepreneurial venture which, according to the report will also carry her name as the fragrance line’s brand.  The fragrance line is set to hit stores by spring 2012.

Meanwhile, Gaga was also the runaway winner at the MTV VMAs last Sunday when she went home with 8 Moonmen statues out of the 13 nominations she earned, including the ultimate honor for Video of the Year, where she accepted the award while she was clad in an ensemble of raw meat from head to toe – including her purse – and announced the title of her new album and her follow up to “The Fame Monster”, “Born This Way”.

Lady Gaga never disappoints to surprise us fashion wise.  At the MTV VMAs on Sunday night, yes she did not stun us with any of her over-the-top stage antics which was very unlikely (which we also think was a mistake by MTV not to sign Gaga up for a performance since she has a new album coming out and her performance would’ve been a win-win situation for both), but she still found a way to have all eyes, noses, and probably appetites on her when she got up on the stage to receive her final Moonman of the night for Video of the Year clad in red, raw meat.

And yes, that was fresh, raw meat all over her, and even held one as a purse.  Oh, and award presenter Cher also did get a chance to hold that infamous purse while Gaga was delivering her acceptance speech.

The brain behind the flesh dress is Franc Fernandez with stylist Nicola Formichetti as the accomplice.  So you might ask, where did the fresh meat come from? “The dress is indeed real meat from my family butcher. Glad it went so well”, Fernandez said.

After her acceptance speech, Gaga sat down with daytime talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and dished out her thoughts on her raw ensemble.

“Well, it is certainly no disrespect to anyone that is vegan or vegetarian. As you know, I am the most judgment-free human being on the earth. However, it has many interpretations, but for me this evening … If we don’t stand up for what we believe in and if we don’t fight for our rights, pretty soon we’re going to have as much rights as the meat on our own bones. And I am not a piece of meat”, Gaga explained.

Glam rock group Scissor Sisters will be teaming up with Lady Gaga for the award winning singer’s forthcoming “Monster Ball Tour” set to kick off on February 19 in Atlantic City.  This will be the third time for the tour to hit the North American market and will be the first time for the pop-disco quintet to open for Gaga.

Scissor Sisters is currently on the heels of the success of their camp tour dubbed as “Fairy Tale Tour” which kicked off to positive reviews in Atlanta last August.

The New York based group has also released their third studio effort entitled “Night Work”, which was described by music website Sputnikmusic.com as “straightforward as possible with homosexuality in all its forms”.

The group’s music has always been popular in the LGBT community because of its suggestive lyrics which supports homosexuality.  The singles were greatly influenced by the band’s main composers who are all gays – Jake Shears and Babydaddy who both pioneered the group and guitarist Del Marquis.