“I’m Just Ready to Fucking Dance”: Kicking Off the Mayhem Era With Nick Gaga

SATURDAY 8:16 PM FEBRUARY 22, 2025 HELL’S KITCHEN

“I might be a little bit famous, but at the end of the day I’m still your local drag queen,” exclaimed Nick Gaga, clad in a black sequin ensemble, on stage at the Balcon Salon on Saturday night. But before she ever graced our Instagram feeds as the world’s premiere Lady Gaga impersonator, she was just a young kid with dreams of leaving her native Russia. After being brought onstage by Gaga herself at the Moscow stop on the Born This Way Ball Tour, Gaga—Nick, that is—would go on to spend the night backstage with Mother Monster, talking about music and her plans to eventually move to the United States. This past weekend, with the release of Mayhem just weeks away, Nick Gaga stood tall with bright lights shining in her eyes and her feet buried in dollar bills thrown by adoring fans. Now, she really was “a little bit famous.” Minutes before her two-hour Gaga extravaganza, we gabbed about our manifestations for the Mayhem era and her one piece of advice to aspiring Gaga impersonators (over a pack of Capri Blues, of course).

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ARY RUSSELL: Well, what are you smoking? What specific brand are you loyal to?

NICK GAGA: Capri Blue. I love my skinny cigarettes.

RUSSELL: What’s so special about it?

GAGA: It doesn’t give the hit of a full cigarette because they’re skinny, so I can have a lot of them throughout the night.

RUSSELL: I’ve never smoked a cigarette. What would you say is the best cigarette to lose my smoking virginity to?

GAGA: These. These will not hit you hard. It will just feel like what nicotine feels like, I guess. But it’s not going to be crazy.

RUSSELL: I hear an accent. Where are you from?

GAGA: Russia, originally.

RUSSELL: Oh my gosh. How long have you been in the States?

GAGA: Almost 10 years.

RUSSELL: That’s amazing. And you came straight to New York, or did you bounce around first?

GAGA: I was trying to decide if I want to move to L.A. or New York, and thank god that I chose New York.

RUSSELL: Fuck L.A. Sorry.

GAGA: Fuck L.A. I tried. I’ve been there a few times and I can only go there for work. That’s it.

RUSSELL: The drag scene here is just, like, unparalleled.

GAGA: Yeah, I also had no idea that I’d be doing drag in New York.

RUSSELL: How long have you been doing drag?

GAGA: Nine years. Since I moved here, basically. 

RUSSELL: I’m sure Russia did not—

GAGA: Oh, no. Absolutely not. They barely allowed me to be gay.

RUSSELL: Walk me through your outfit.

GAGA: Well, this is my walk around. I’m in my Mayhem era, just like Lady Gaga.

RUSSELL: Yes, of course.

GAGA: I am switching from all the blondes that I have. I am wearing a lot of black hair now, a lot of dark outfits. So this is just a little sequin dress, my favorite Mugler belt, and that’s it.

RUSSELL: It looks fab. But where are you getting your lace wigs? I need some tips.

GAGA: It’s funny, because I order a lot of them from Amazon.

RUSSELL: Really? Human or synthetic?

GAGA: I only wear human. In the beginning of my career I used to wear synthetics, but now, because I get more money, I can afford it. 

RUSSELL: She can splurge.

GAGA: It’s also an investment, having a human hair wig that will last you forever. I’ve had this unit since Gaga started this era for six months, and nothing has happened.

RUSSELL: I used to wear a lot of synthetic, and I typically wear synthetic when I’m doing just fun colors, but my black every day, I’ll invest.

GAGA: Correct. Yes.

RUSSELL: The thing that I’m going to wear every day, that’ll be human hair. You know what I’m saying? So what can we expect from the Gaga Ball tonight?

GAGA: Tonight it’s like a pre-Mayhem show, so I have different variations of the Gaga Ball. Sometimes it’s a full replica of an actual Gaga Ball. I’ve done Born This Way, I’ve done Artpop Ball, I’ve done the Monster Ball, I’ve done The Fame Ball. But sometimes in between, I like to mix all of them together so people can get a little bit of everything. Tonight, you’re getting a little bit of everything.

RUSSELL: Like a greatest hits vibes?

GAGA: Yes, and a little taste of what’s going to happen in the Mayhem Ball next month.

RUSSELL: What are we manifesting for Mayhem in general?

GAGA: Well, Gaga announced that it’s going to be a dance album, which is extremely exciting for me. So I’m just ready to fucking dance. I am ready for Gaga to be hitting really hard. 

RUSSELL: So, why Gaga? Why not any other celebrity?

GAGA:  First of all, Gaga’s my favorite artist from the beginning since I became a Little Monster back in 2009 or 2010. When I moved from Russia to New York, and when I decided that I want to be doing drag in general, I figured out that there’s not a lot of impersonators specifically doing Gaga. And I saw a few, but they were just not on the level that I would do it. So I was like, “Okay, I’m going to take that fucking position and I’m going to do it.”

RUSSELL: “I’m going to wear the crown.”

GAGA: And here we are. Gaga knows me. She supports me. I work for her family now. 

RUSSELL: So you climbed up the ranks.

GAGA: Absolutely.

RUSSELL: I love that.

GAGA: Yeah. The only other impersonator that exists in the world that is on my level is Penelopy Jean, but she’s in South America, so we have—

RUSSELL: Different territory.

GAGA: We have territories that we take over, yes. I took over the US and North America, and she is over in South America, and that’s great.

RUSSELL: What’s your favorite Gaga song of all time?

GAGA: “G.U.Y.” The number one is always going to be “G.U.Y”, until we’re going to hear the full Mayhem.

ARY RUSSELL: I always say Artpop. When it came out, she kind of flopped, but I think she was so ahead of her time. The mainstream didn’t know it. They didn’t appreciate it.

GAGA: No, no one did. It’s only for the true fans. Also, not only true fans, because a lot of fans were not into that album. I was also in the hardest time of my life when it came out.

RUSSELL: There are some people, when they’re going through the hardest time of their life, they want to listen to sad music. Then there’s the opposite.

GAGA: I need it banging.

RUSSELL: Now I’m going to be a little bit messy. What’s your least favorite Gaga song?

GAGA: I have an answer, but it’s not my least favorite song. It’s just the fact that I can’t perform it. It’s “I’ll Never Love Again” from the A Star Is Born soundtrack. I tried and I performed it almost twice, because the second time I just cut it off and I couldn’t do it. The first time when I did it, I literally was bawling my eyes out from the first second of the song.

RUSSELL: It’s so emotional.What was the first Gaga look that you ever did?

GAGA: First? It was the “G.U.Y.” music video.

RUSSELL: I need to see pictures.

GAGA: Yes, darling. Yes, darling.

RUSSELL: Is there a Gaga look that you haven’t done yet that you feel you need to?

GAGA: Meat dress.

RUSSELL: Would you use actual meat?

GAGA: Yes.

RUSSELL: You would commit.

GAGA: I will do it just like Gaga. When it comes to my replications and everything that I do, I’m not scared to say that I’m the best Gaga impersonator because I know what I’m doing and I’m good at it. It’s because I’m paying attention to details. I can’t do it halfway because—

RUSSELL: She doesn’t do it halfway.

GAGA: Exactly.

RUSSELL: And as a final word, what would you say to a young queen who’s thinking of even daring to impersonate Gaga?

GAGA: Oh, just the best of luck. Try it.

RUSSELL: Try it?

GAGA: Try it. I don’t think it’s going to happen, but try it. Maybe when I retire.