Lady Gaga shows off tattoo during Asia tour

[August 10, 2009]  SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Lady Gaga may sport an ever-changing series of risque outfits, but the pop singer says two things are permanent: her tattoos and her bow tie 'do.

The 23-year-old star, her real name Stefani Germanotta, showed off her newest body art Sunday night before performing the hit songs "Poker Face," "Just Dance" and "Paparazzi" at Seoul's Olympic Hall during the Asian leg of her "Fame Ball" tour.

The curling script on her left arm is a souvenir from a midnight session at a tattoo parlor in Osaka, Japan.

"It says 'In the deepest hour of the night, confess to yourself that you would die if you were forbidden to write. And look deep into your heart where it spreads its roots, the answer, and ask yourself, must I write?'" she said.

The quote, in German, comes from the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, whom she described as her "favorite philosopher."

Lady Gaga, whose single "LoveGame" is No. 9 on Billboard magazine's music chart this week, said Rilke's "philosophy of solitude" spoke to her.

The New York native called solitude "something you marry, as an artist. When you are an artist, your solitude is a lonely place that you embrace."

The singer, known for a dazzling array of outfits bridging 1970s glam, '80s pop art and sexy modern designs, has also embraced the power of iconography. She was dressed Sunday in a glittering gold dress by the South Korean designer Lie Sang Bong.

Lady Gaga professed to owning a large collection of wigs, from purple feather creations to an oversized button shape and stacked black bundles.

But underneath them all, she said she'll always have the retro white-blond 'do, the result of deciding to "go blonde" one day after being bored with her long hair and bangs. She's now known for the big bow tie she wears in her hair.

"And I guess that somehow became my signature look," she said. "But more importantly, I believe in the power of iconography, which was something that Andy Warhol did, and it's repeating an image over and over again. So I rarely change the shape of my hair."

[Associated Press; By NICOLAI HARTVIG]

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