Lady Gaga is courting controversy after debuting her latest song ‘Princess Die’. The ‘Born This Way’ hitmaker unveiled the song during her performance in Melbourne. Before breaking into the song for her fans, Gaga said: “This song may or may not be on my next album. The song is a little bit sad”. “And I am going to play it because…actually I am excited and impressed with how many super fans I have”, she added. The 26-year-old singer told her fans that the piano ballad reflected the most “deep and personal thoughts” she’s ever had. The song, which was uploaded to YouTube soon after the show, is her darkest yet and deals with suicide. Although Gaga stressed that the song had nothing to do with Princess Diana, she spelled out the title just in case there was any confusion – the lyrics do touch on details of the princess’s life. The end of the song, the chorus of which is “Princess Die, I want to see her cry”, is clearly about Diana’s tragic death in Paris in 1987. The 26-year-old singer may or may not include the dark song in her third still-in-the-making studio album. The glum song is nowhere influenced by the singer’s mood. The fact that Gaga is testing the waters with the song while on tour suggests she is very aware of its controversial themes and the potential for backlash. Chris Wagner, the communications director for Lifeline, said the song sent a worrying message to Gaga’s fans. “Lifeline is very concerned about the nature of the song, particularly as it clearly describes the method of suicide and talks in depth about suicide,” he said. “It doesn’t actually have any message of hope, of help seeking, or anything of a positive nature whatsoever. We understand artistic licence and we get artistic expression, but celebrities need to recognise that they’re role models for young people in the community. Young people often live and breathe by the lyrics to the songs of their favourite stars.”
