Latest news with #LittleMonsters'
Gulf News
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Gulf News
Lady Gaga sets new standard with 2.5 million fans, surpassing Madonna's record
Lady Gaga made music history in Rio de Janeiro recently, performing a spectacular free concert for an estimated 2.5 million people on Copacabana Beach. The event, which marked her return to Brazil after nearly ten years, has now become the most-attended concert by a female artist in history, surpassing the previous record set by Madonna. According to concert organizers, the immense crowd gathered to watch the pop superstar deliver a high-energy set filled with hits from her expansive catalog, along with new tracks from her latest album, Mayhem. Gaga opened the show with the fan-favorite 'Bloody Mary,' setting the tone for what would become an unforgettable night. A night of emotion and celebration Gaga expressed her deep gratitude to the Brazilian audience in an emotional Instagram post after the show. 'Nothing could prepare me for the feeling I had during last night's show — the absolute pride and joy I felt singing for the people of Brazil,' she wrote. 'The sight of the crowd during my opening songs took my breath away.' She praised the country's vibrant culture and spirit, calling it a privilege to share such a historic moment with her fans. Inspiring message to the world Reflecting on the record-breaking attendance, Gaga shared an inspiring message with her global fanbase: 'If you lose your way, you can find your way back if you believe in yourself and work hard. You can lift yourself up—even if it takes some time.' She thanked her loyal fans — affectionately known as 'Little Monsters' — for their unwavering support and love across the years.
The Hindu
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Lady Gaga concert bomb plot targeted queer community, say Brazilian police after arresting two people
Police in Brazil said on Sunday that two people have been arrested in connection with an alleged plot to detonate explosives at a free Lady Gaga concert in Rio de Janeiro. The Rio event on Saturday was the biggest show of the pop star's career, attracting an estimated 2.5 million fans to Copacabana Beach and had crowds screaming and dancing along. Felipe Cury, secretary of the Rio police, said authorities believed the suspects sought to target Brazil's LGBTQ community. 'They were clearly saying that they were planning an attack at Lady Gaga's concert motivated by sexual orientation,' Cury told a press conference on Sunday. Rio Police chief Luiz Lima said the group disseminated hate speech and violent content online 'aimed at gaining notoriety in order to attract more viewers, more participants — most of them teenagers, many of them children.' Even as Brazilian authorities said they arrested suspects in the hours before Lady Gaga's show, the event went ahead without disruption, leading some to question the seriousness of the threat. Serious security concerns typically lead organisers to cancel such massive events — as happened with Taylor Swift's concerts in Vienna last year. Police said said nothing about the alleged plot at the time to in an effort to 'avoid panic' and 'the distortion of information.' A spokesperson for Lady Gaga said the pop star and her team 'learned about this alleged threat via media reports this morning. Prior to and during the show, there were no known safety concerns, nor any communication from the police or authorities to Lady Gaga regarding any potential risks.' The statement added: 'Her team worked closely with law enforcement throughout the planning and execution of the concert and all parties were confident in the safety measures in place.' Security was tight at Saturday's concert, with 5,200 military and police officers deployed to the beach where fans were reveling in the pop singer's classic hits like 'Born This Way,' which became something of an LGBTQ anthem after its 2011 release. Authorities arrested two people in connection with the alleged plot — a man described as the group's leader in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul on illegal weapons possession charges, and a teenager in Rio on child pornography charges. Police did not elaborate on their exact roles in the plot or on how the group came to target Lady Gaga's free concert. 'Those involved were recruiting participants, including teenagers, to carry out integrated attacks using improvised explosives and Molotov cocktails,' police said. The Justice Ministry said that it determined the group posed a 'risk to public order.' It said the group falsely presented themselves online as 'Little Monsters' — Lady Gaga's nickname for her fans — in order to lure teeangers into 'networks with violent and self-destructive content.' During a series of raids on the homes of 15 suspects across several Brazilian states, authorities confiscated phones and other electronic devices. Although police said they believed homemade bombs were intended for use in the planned attack, there was no mention of the raids turning up any weapons or explosive material. Cury said one of the suspects, whose home was raided in the city of Macaé, near Rio, 'had a religious motivation' and 'claimed the singer (Lady Gaga) was a Satanist.' Lady Gaga has expressed gratitude for the enormous crowd in an Instagram post that said nothing of the alleged plot. 'Nothing could prepare me for the feeling I had during last night's show — the absolute pride and joy I felt singing for the people of Brazil,' she wrote. 'The sight of the crowd during my opening songs took my breath away. Your heart shines so bright, your culture is so vibrant and special, I hope you know how grateful I am to have shared this historical moment with you.' Her free beach concert stood out at a time of surging ticket prices for live music around the world as concert-goers pay budget-busting costs to see their favorite artists. Last month she performed at Coachella Valley music festival in California, where tickets fetched upwards of $600 for one weekend. Rio has done this before — last May, superstar Madonna performed the finale to her latest world tower for some 1.6 million fans on the sprawling sands of Copacabana Beach.
The Star
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Brazilian police arrest 2 people over plot to bomb Lady Gaga's concert in Rio
The Rio event on Saturday was the biggest show of Lady Gaga's career that sent more than 2 million fans flooding Copacabana Beach. Photo: AFP Police in Brazil said on Sunday that two people have been arrested in connection with an alleged plot to detonate a bomb at a free Lady Gaga concert in Rio de Janeiro. The Rio event on Saturday was the biggest show of the pop star's career that sent more than 2 million fans flooding Copacabana Beach. Rio de Janeiro's state police and Brazil's Justice Ministry presented the bare outlines of a plot that they said involved a group that promoted hate speech against the LGBTQ+ community, among others, and planned to detonate homemade explosive devices at the event. "The plan was treated as a 'collective challenge' with the aim of gaining notoriety on social media,' the police said. The group, it added, disseminated violent content to teenagers online as "a form of belonging.' Authorities arrested two people in connection with the alleged plot - a man described as the group's leader in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul on illegal weapons possession charges, and a teenager in Rio on child pornography charges. Police did not elaborate on their exact roles in the plot or on how the group came to target Lady Gaga's beach concert. "Those involved were recruiting participants, including teenagers, to carry out integrated attacks using improvised explosives and Molotov cocktails,' police said. The Justice Ministry said that it determined the group posed a "risk to public order." It said the group falsely presented themselves online as "Little Monsters' - Lady Gaga's nickname for her fans - in order to reach teenagers and lure them into "networks with violent and self-destructive content.' During a series of raids on the homes of 15 suspects across several Brazilian states, authorities confiscated phones and other electronic devices. Even as police said they believed homemade bombs were intended for use in the planned attack, there was no mention of the raids turning up any weapons or explosive material. Lady Gaga's publicists and concert promoters did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Police said they carried out the raids quietly Saturday in the hours leading up to the concert while "avoiding panic or distortion of information among the population." The ministry said there was no impact on those attending the free concert. – AP
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Police Thwart Bomb Attack Plan at Lady Gaga's Brazil Concert
A bomb plot targeting over 2 million people attending a free Lady Gaga concert in Brazil has been thwarted, according to investigating police. BBC reported Sunday that a group aligning itself with Lady Gaga's 'Little Monsters' fanbase attempted to recruit and radicalize teenage participants for a coordinated attack on concertgoers with 'improvised explosives and Molotov cocktails' at Copacabana beach in Rio. The BBC reported that the plot was deemed 'Operation Fake Monster' by the group, according to information uncovered by Rio state police intelligence. In online forums, the group reportedly pushed violence and self-harm 'as a form of belonging and challenge among young people.' A suspect believed to be the mastermind behind the plot was arrested in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul for illegal possession of a firearm, CNN reported. A teenager believed to be involved was also detained in Rio de Janeiro for storing child pornography. The Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro state said it is collaborating with the Justice Ministry to investigate the plot after a tip-off from the Rio state police intelligence. To locate the suspects, authorities executed over a dozen search and seizure warrants across the states of Rio de Janeiro, Mato Grosso, Rio Grande do Sul, and São Paulo. Additionally, more than 5,000 police officers were deployed to be sure the concert went on without a hitch on Saturday. Concertgoers were made to pass through metal detectors, and drones and facial recognition cameras were also put in place for added security, CNN reported. 'You waited for more than 10 years for me,' Lady Gaga told the roaring crowd as she held out a Brazilian flag. The concert, paid for by the city of Rio, is expected to generate an estimated $100 million for its economy, BBC reported. In a follow-up Instagram post, Gaga gushed over the night. 'Nothing could prepare me for the feeling I had during last night's show—the absolute pride and joy I felt singing for the people of Brazil,' she captioned pictures from the night.
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Lady Gaga's 2.1 million-strong Rio concert targeted for bomb attack by hate group posing as her ‘Little Monsters' fans, Brazilian police say
Lady Gaga's record-breaking concert in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday was targeted with a bomb plot by a hate group posing as 'Little Monsters' fans, who planned to attack with IEDs and Molotov cocktails, Brazilian police revealed. The plotters were organizing coordinated bombings and trying to recruit young Brazilians to carry out carnage at the event, which drew 2.1 million people to the world-famous Copacabana Beach, police in Rio said in a statement. The recruiters falsely identified themselves as members of Gaga's global fan base, known as 'Little Monsters,' as a way to lure fans into 'networks with violent and self-destructive content,' the Brazilian Justice Ministry said. Rio state police intelligence uncovered digital networks that encouraged violent behavior used coded language and extremist symbols to communicate their vile message, authorities said. The plotters aimed to radicalize teenagers and promoted self-harm, violent content and hate speech, including against the LGBT community, the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro state said. They planned to use the bombing to gain notoriety on social networks, authorities said. A man described as the leader of the group was arrested in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul for illegal possession of a firearm, while a teenager in Rio was arrested on child pornography charges, police said. Over a dozen search and seizure warrants were carried out in the Brazilian states of Rio de Janeiro, Mato Grosso, Rio Grande do Sul and São Paulo, authorities said. The raids were carried out quietly just hours before Gaga's performance so as to avoid 'panic or distortion of information,' police said. There was no impact on those attending the free concert, the Justice Ministry said. Gaga's free performance as part of her 'Mayhem' tour was the biggest audience for a solo female artist in history, beating the record previously held by Madonna, who drew a crowd of 1.6 million. 'It's a great honor to be asked to sing for Rio — for my whole career the fans in Brazil have been part of the lifeblood of the Little Monsters,' she wrote in an Instagram post announcing the show last month. Saturday's show was her first in Brazil in 12 years after she was forced to cancel a show in Rio years prior due to an injury.
