Recently, I was perusing Youtube and came across a Lady Gaga impersonator in Chile. I was amazed when I realized this mirror image of Gaga was not the actual one. After watching a few of her videos and visiting her Facebook fan page, I decided I had to at least take a chance and shoot the Lady an email to propose writing a story on her.
Her name is Jeimmy Carroza Allup, although most know her as Jey Gaga. She has been impersonating Lady Gaga for two years and was voted the best Gaga impersonator at Gay March 2009.
“I get mistaken for her a lot; especially when I went to Las Vegas to see the real Lady [in concert],” said Jey. “And yes, I have signed autographs.”
Imagine looking like a splitting image of one of the most worshipped pop phenomenons on the planet. “I’m so used to having special treatment, like if I was God or something.”
With all the attention and strutting around in eye-catching outfits, one would expect an impersonator of Lady Gaga to be an extrovert. “I know you won’t believe me, but I’m a very quiet and shy person,” she said.
So did how this idea to become a Gaga impersonator came about? “It was a friend’s idea. He created a Lady Gaga fan club here and wanted to do a kind of open up party and thought it would be nice to get someone to impersonate or do a show like Lady Gaga,” she explained. “So I was his victim.” And the rest is history.
“I was a very normal person, I was in my first year at university, I didn’t even think about being a little monster.”
A life of a Gaga impersonator is anything but stagnant, nor is it an easy job. “I do get to travel a lot, especially in the summer. Being an impersonator, it’s a convenient business, but it’s not all just traveling and having fun,” she said. “The hardest parts are rehearsals and making my costumes.”
Jey Gaga has studied Lady Gaga “down to an art” from her style, personality, clothing designs and dance routines. “I study everything about her. Sometimes I can spend an entire day watching videos to do my show the same as hers,” she said.
Jey has been recognized in the media in many press releases and feature articles. “I’ve been in Rolling Stone once, also a lot of media and press. But most important, I won a look alike contest sponsored by Billboard and I was the only Latin girl among thousands of U.S. citizens.”
Interestingly, she has many friends who are impersonators as well. “I have a lot of friends who impersonate other artists, but I’m the only Gaga in Chile and the most recognized in other countries,” she said. “I haven’t traveled to the U.S. to perform, only in South America.”
Jey has found that she has a lot in common with Lady Gaga. “I used to care a lot about my body and being fit as much as she does, I can eat lots of junk food one day but if the next week I need to be skinny I won’t eat for days and Gaga used to do the same thing. We also have the SAME nose and the same mole under our right eye. She likes a lot surfing on the Internet, me too.”
Is this mirror-Gaga musical? “I used to sing at school, and very well; I won a few contests. But I stopped singing, I don't know why,” she said.
So what does she do when she is not parading around in Gaga regalia? “I’m so into computer programs, video games and music,” she shared. “Right now, I’m on my third year at university studying to be a teacher of English.”
Jey has not yet met the real Lady on a personal level, but she did reach out from the audience to hand her a birthday gift on stage at a concert. “She saw me in Las Vegas, received my gift and talked to me, but I've never been with her. It's my biggest dream to hug her, give her a kiss and know how she smells, haha,” said Jey.
I asked her what she would ask Gaga if she could ask her one question. “I think I would ask a very stupid thing, haha, like, 'marry me?' Just kidding,” she responded.
“The thing that I appreciate the most [about the job] is that I can express my love for Lady Gaga in a different way than the rest of the fans,” she shared. “I know I'm a very special little monster. And she (Gaga) knows it. I used to be very old-fashioned and boring, but I have recognized that Gaga helped a lot. So thanks Gaga, you've made the best impersonator, person, and style girl :).”
To learn more about her you can visit her Facebook page and check her out on YouTube:
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