US News

Lady Gaga’s appeal grows in Indonesia despite concert cancellation

Lady Gaga’s Indonesian fans may no longer be able to catch the pop idol live, after her concert was canceled owing to threats from Islamic extremists, but her songs and videos may be getting more attention in the country now than ever before.

According to Google Insights for Search, search queries for the American pop star in Indonesia have increased more than fivefold since early May, when news of Lady Gaga’s concert first started making waves among conservative factions in the country, The Wall Street Journal’s Southeast Asia Real Time blog reported Monday.

Though Google does not release absolute numbers indicating how many times a certain phrase was searched, an aggregated graph showing interest in the celebrity over time shows a dramatic peak over the past three weeks, with most of the interest coming from Jakarta, where Lady Gaga’s concert was slated to be held.

The drama over her now-canceled concert also may have had the unintended effect of popularizing the controversial icon’s songs, with “lady gaga songs” and “download lady gaga” also topping the search lists in the Southeast Asian nation.

Among the fastest-rising searches in Indonesia, according to Google, was Lady Gaga’s “Judas,” a song that religious groups — Christian and Muslim alike — have latched on to as evidence of the US pop star’s “devil worship.” On YouTube, the song has more than 139 million views, compared with her more radio-friendly hits like “Born This Way” and “Edge of Glory,” which have 94 million and 59 million views, respectively.

The singer and her concert organizers dismissed claims that Lady Gaga is anti-Christ, anti-Islam or against religious worship in general. Lady Gaga maintained in earlier interviews that the song “Judas” is not about religion but rather about falling for the wrong man.

In the Philippines, searches for Lady Gaga via Google also rose significantly, similarly recording a fivefold increase since early May. Groups in the Philippines, too, protested the singer’s concert there, saying that songs like “Judas” and “Born this Way” mock Jesus Christ and promote homosexuality. Unlike in Indonesia, though, Lady Gaga’s Manila concert went on as scheduled, and according to her manager, Troy Carter, was not and would not be toned down in any way.

According to tweets from the “Mother Monster” herself, as Lady Gaga is known, a concert in Indonesia may not be completely off the cards. After announcements that the Indonesia leg of her Asian tour would be canceled, Lady Gaga tweeted Sunday, “I will try to put together something special for you. My love for Indonesia has only grown. #GagaSendsLoveToJakarta and all its people.”

Many in the country were shocked and disappointed at the concert’s cancellation, particularly after various Western pop idols — including Katy Perry and Kylie Minogue — recently performed in the Muslim-majority country without incident. The June 3 concert was completely sold out, with more than 50,000 tickets sold. Promoters have promised refunds to ticket holders.

To read more, go to The Wall Street Journal.