On Thursday night, Mother Monster treated one of her littlest monsters to the ultimate experience by bringing her up onstage during her Toronto tour stop.
Lady Gaga sat 10-year-old Maria Aragon on her lap before they both began playing piano and singing "Born This Way." It was a moment that brought not only Gaga to tears, but fans in the audience too. One fan, Jyll Saskin, told that the moment was "really sweet."
"Maria came out looking all adorable with her fedora hat and a [stuffed] monkey. It was really cute," Saskin recalled. "So Gaga sat at the piano, pulled Maria onto her lap, and then did a beautiful, soulful rendition of 'Born This Way' together, trading off verses. Maria played the piano, while Gaga played a bit with her right hand as well. Gaga was very, very into the performance, closing her eyes and arching back a lot and definitely getting lost in the song. It was outstanding."
Gaga became visibly teary-eyed during the performance, and Saskin said she wasn't the only one. "I had tears in my eyes by the end and Gaga did, too — her mascara was visibly running down her face. After the song, Maria thanked her family ... and then told us all to stay tuned because she'd be back after 'Bad Romance.' "
As promised, Aragon did reemerge onstage. Saskin explained, "I understand that 'Bad Romance' is typically the finale, but Gaga came back to do 'Born This Way' again, similar to her Grammy performance, organ and everything. When she was at the organ part, Maria came back out and then they sang and danced the last bit together. At the end, when Gaga and the group of dancers are all together doing the 'paws-up' thing, Maria did the choreography with them. When the song was over, Gaga and Maria hugged. It was really special. I think everyone in the audience was head over heels in love with Maria by that point, but also 100 percent jealous."
Sure, fans may have envied Maria's spot onstage, but she had the full support of the little monsters in the audience, according to Saskin. "The crowd definitely loved the whole Maria bit. There were massive cheers when she came out, massive cheers when she spoke, and while she was singing 'Born This Way' at the piano with Gaga, it was so quiet in the audience; it was like everyone was in a trance. It was really magical.
"Maria is a born superstar — she spoke so eloquently and didn't seem nervous at all. I mean, she's sitting on freaking Lady Gaga's lap at the Air Canada Center, 24,000 some-odd people, and she didn't skip a beat."
While Maria's performance stood out as a highlight, Saskin also was moved during another part of the night, when the pop star showed off some acrobatic moves. " 'You and I,' I think it was my favorite of the night. Gaga was in her studded bra and underwear, and she played piano and belted it out like a pro. ... So we had Gaga, playing piano and singing, right heel on the piano, left heel balanced against a freaking guitar string. It was epic, and the song was amazing."
What do you think of Gaga and Maria's version of "Born This Way"? Tell us in the comments!