I attended the opening show of the Chromatica Ball in Düsseldorf, and it changed my life. I’ve never been to an opening show of a tour before, so that was a premiere for me. I’ve also never had standing tickets in a stadium, so that was a premiere, too. Lots of premieres that day.

I’m from Austria, so I went to Düsseldorf by train for more than 13 hours with my best friend. I suffer from extreme anxiety that also causes depressive phases, and I am so proud I did all of this – traveling 13 hours to a foreign country, being away from home, standing there amongst 56K+ people in a stadium.

To say this show was incredible is a complete understatement. What Gaga puts on that stage, knowing what she’s struggling with, is astounding and something to strive for. I loved Chromatica before but witnessing this album live made me even more obsessed with it.

I want to thank Gaga from the bottom of my heart for all the things she did for me, what she did for me with this special album, with this show, with everything. Chromatica came around at the exact right time for a lot of us, for me as well. It was the year where my anxiety spiked like it’s never spiked before. Listening to Chromatica let me escape from reality, looking for my own wonderland. I needed this album so much, and so did a lot of people. To escape from reality even for a few minutes and dancing through our pain.

I want to let Gaga know how incredibly happy I am that she’s back on stage – we need her on the stage. This is where she shines, where she can lead us, where she can show the whole world her incredible talent. I know it’s hard sometimes, but Gaga…just know…you’ll always be welcome on stage. You are our home. Thank you for everything ❤️

Love, Marco