With her equality anthem “Born This Way” and . . . well, nearly everything she says, does and wears, Lady Gaga has proven herself to be this era’s gay-friendliest pop star. But Gaga goes well beyond celebrity gestures and digs her paws into real political action. First came her rallying cry at the National Equality March on Washington in March 2009. The 2010 MTV VMAs followed, where U.S. service members affected by the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy accompanied her on the red carpet. Later, she appealed to her millions of Twitter followers to ask the New York State Senator to vote yes for the Marriage Equality Act. And since 2009, Gaga has teamed with Virgin Mobile to help combat homelessness among gay youth. At every U.S. show in the last four years, Virgin has pledged up to $5,000 for a local gay youth homeless shelter in each city to match $1 donations made by concert-goers. Gaga has also notably taken her vocal support of LGBT youth on the road this winter with her Born Brave Bus, which was part of her Born This Way Foundation’s campaign in partnership with Campus Pride, GLSEN and other youth empowerment groups.

Thursday, 12 February 2013 – For immediate release. Live Nation Global Touring has confirmed that the remainder of the Lady Gaga Born This Way Ball performances have been cancelled. After additional tests this morning to review the severity of the issue, it has been determined that Lady Gaga has a labral tear of the right hip caused by strenuous repetitive movements in her performances. She will need surgery to repair the problem, followed by strict down time to recover. This unfortunately, will force her to cancel the tour, so she can heal. Refunds for the cancelled performances will be available at point of purchase starting Feb 14, 2013.

How did you originally meet and come to work with Lady Gaga?
Troy Carter: We were introduced by Vincent Herbert, who was her executive producer at her record label. You saw the energy when she walked in the room. She was very specific about her vision, all of the music was there, and all she needed was someone to help her translate it to the rest of the world, which is where I came in.

When did you first realize the potential social media had to affect Gaga’s career?
I think it developed because we were forced into it. We couldn’t get her record played on the radio and we couldn’t get the video on TV. YouTube and blogs were our platforms in the very beginning because the Internet was the only platform!

Is it true that Lady Gaga’s next record, ArtPop, will be released as an app?
The album is going to be an app. It will also exist in CD and digital form, but the primary experience will be as an application. It will be built around the tablet, but will have a mobile version as well.

How do you think the business of pop music will evolve?
This is the best time to be in the music industry. As sub-Saharan Africa and China go completely mobile, you have people who’ve never had access to the music we offer all of a sudden able to access it. I think we can reach a lot more people now. You’re going to see a lot more friction points for independent artists disappear, but there will be more artists than ever. You’ll have to look at making money through a different lens. Artists are going to be giving away music in exchange for different things, like data or purchasing a ticket or a piece of merchandise. There will be new ways to monetize music, but it may not be the music itself.

What is your most memorable experience of working with Gaga? Does anything particularly surreal stand out?
I think—and I can say this because it just happened recently—it was seeing her have a casual conversation with the President about gay rights issues. When you think back to six years ago, this girl from New York walking in with ripped-up stockings, and now she’s having conversations with the President about serious issues-—it’s a bit surreal.

What is next for the Troy/Gaga think tank?
I have no idea! We could have never predicted we’d be where we are right now, so I have no clue what the next five years are going to look like, but I hope it gets even better.

She will perform alongside the likes of Beyoncé, Kelly Clarkson, Katy Perry, and more for the President on January 21st! What do you think she’ll perform?

Now’s your chance to see Lady Gaga live, uncut and offstage. Watch as our lucky sweepstakes winners talk upcoming music, costumes and backstage moments - all live, and face-to-face, with Lady Gaga. Want to join? Submit your questions via Ustream during the live call. Mother Monster could answer yours!

1. Where will the call take place?
The call will be streamed live on Ustream and available to watch on multiple platforms including Skypeball.com and LittleMonsters.com.

2. What time?
2:00 PM PST

3. How do I view the call?
Go to skypeball.com/skypewithgaga

4. What if I can’t watch the call live?
You can watch the archived video on Ustream. We’ll also share it on the Skype YouTube channel soon.

5. How long is the call?
There is no set duration for the call.

6. How can I ask Lady Gaga a question?
To submit your question, go to skypeball.com/skypewithgaga and sign in to the social stream with either your Ustream login or your Twitter or Facebook logins to leave a comment or question in the Ustream chat feed.

7. How many questions will Gaga be answering?
There is no set number for the call.

8. Can I be on the video call?
No, only sweepstakes winners will be on the group video call with Lady Gaga. But, we’ll be taking questions live from the UStream chat feed.

9. What if I’m not at a computer?
You can watch the video and participate via UStream’s mobile app.

10. Where will I see my questions?
Once you enter your question(s), it will appear in the Ustream chat feed. Keep in mind, when there are many users submitting questions at the same time, this feed may move rather quickly making it difficult to spot your question.

11. I didn’t see my question posted in the chat. Where is it?
The chat may move quite fast, so there’s a chance your question was part of the feed but you didn’t notice it. If so, feel free to post again.

12. Why won’t Ustream let me post multiple questions in a row?
UStream has a limit on how often you can post questions. If it won’t let you post straight away, it may require you wait 30 seconds before submitting your next question.

What kind of questions do you think Gaga will be answering for us?