Pop diva goes Gaga for Thai 'ladies'

Bangkok - Lady Gaga met Thai 'ladies' of a different kind at a transvestite cabaret show in Bangkok that had the flamboyant entertainer singing along, club management said on Friday.

The Born This Way star "clapped her hands and screamed" in appreciation of the performance at Calypso Cabaret, which included lip-synched versions of well-known Asian pop songs and dance routines by a troupe of extravagantly dressed 'ladyboys'.

"When she arrived, she was so friendly, she said 'Hi lady, hi lady' to our performers all the way to her seat before the show started," Nipon Boonmasuwaran, sales and marketing manager at Calypso Cabaret told AFP.

The 26-year-old singer, whose global hits include Just Dance and Poker Face, wore a crop top with gold-studded epaulettes for the event in central Bangkok on Wednesday.

"When the show finished, she went up to her favourite performer and said 'you are so beautiful'," Nipon said. "We're so happy and impressed with her. She seemed very nice and not arrogant like other superstars."

Ruffled some feathers

Gaga, who was due to perform in Bangkok on Friday, has faced protests from religious hardliners in Indonesia, the Philippines and South Korea.

Jakarta police said last week they would not give a green light to her 3 June show after Islamic hardliners threatened chaos if the singer entered Indonesia, meaning she has so far been unable to obtain a permit to perform.

The promoters of the US performer's "The Born This Way Ball" show in Jakarta have sold more than 50 000 tickets, and Indonesian fans are outraged that the event might not go ahead.

Gaga also ruffled some feathers in Thailand by tweeting that "I wanna get lost in a lady market and buy fake Rolex", remarks that some Thais complained cast the kingdom in a negative light.

But there was not expected to be disruption to the sell-out Bangkok concert.

Lady Gaga will also play three shows in Singapore next week. She is due to play in Jakarta after that, before flying south to New Zealand and Australia, and then to Europe.