A Carleton student couldn’t hide his poker face any longer, after he revealed on his Twitter profile April 3 that the Lady Gaga’s smash hit, “Bad Romance,” was based on his failed relationship with the pop superstar.
Music student Gordon Lurie’s tweet linked to several pages of photographs featuring him and the recording artist in various European locales, including Berlin, Amsterdam and Vienna.
“It’s official. I’m the Bad Romance,” Lurie tweeted.
The “bad romance” reportedly happened in Europe last summer. Gaga (birth name: Stefani Germanotta) was on her Fame Ball world tour, while Lurie was vacationing and performing with his punk band, The Elephants.
According to one of his bandmates, Gaga saw The Elephants play at a popular German club, and was smitten with Lurie’s passionate lyrics.
“She came up to us and asked who had written our songs,” said Miles Lucas, a friend and a bandmate of Lurie.
“Then we brought [Lurie] over and they hit it off right away.”
According to his friends and bandmates, Lurie always suspected that “Bad Romance” had him in mind.
When he found a backmasked version (a track of the song recorded backwards) of the #1 hit single last week, Lurie found a moment where she clearly sings: “Oh, elephant boy,” referencing Lurie’s punk group.
“It comes right before the first chorus,” Lurie remarked. “I couldn’t believe it when I heard it for the first time. But it’s definitely there.”
Gaga’s representative confirmed that the photographs were authentic, and commented that the relationship was short-lived.
“It really didn’t go on for very long,” said Andrew Bridges, a friend and fellow Carleton music student.
“Regardless, I don’t really know if I’d enjoy being the subject of a hit song about a love that didn't go so well.”
Gaga has not commented on Lurie's claims.