“I’m gonna keep this very simple,” Lady Gaga said from the podium, addressing the crowd at a drive-in rally for former Vice President Joe Biden in Pittsburgh on Monday night (November 2). “If you believe in Joe Biden and you haven’t already voted, make a plan to get to the polls tomorrow.”
“Right now, it’s time for action, it’s time to muster all of our energy, every ounce of us, every ounce of hope and optimism and enthusiasm, every ounce of fear and frustration and discouragement,” she continued. “Now is the time to show up and vote like this country depends on it, because it does!”
It was a simple message, but delivered by one of the world’s biggest pop stars, it felt big. And just a short time later, Gaga took the piano and brought even more energy to the stage with a characteristically grandiose rendition of both “Shallow” and “You and I.” (You can watch it around 1:24:00 in the video below.)
Between songs, Gaga once again shared both her support for Biden as well as urged everyone there to vote and to spread the word to friends and family about voting. She also mentioned how she used to live in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and used to be “engaged to a man from Lancaster, Pennsylvania” — her ex-fiancé, Taylor Kinney — but now, Biden has became her “new Pennsylvania guy.”
The image of Gaga at a piano has become very expected since her more acoustic and stripped-down Joanne era, as well as her Oscar-nominated turn as a singer-songwriter A Star Is Born. But seeing her belt out the crunchy-country tune “You and I,” a single from her 2011 album Born This Way, at just the piano, let her imbue something from the past with new energy.
Gaga joins Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Cardi B, Beyoncé, and more global pop stars who’ve spoken out in support of Biden.
“I might not always look like you,” Gaga said to conclude her performance, “but I am you. We are each other.”
