Lady Gaga dissolved in tears Sunday night as she performed at the first-ever YouTube Music Awards, streamed live online from Manhattan.
The always unpredictable star ditched her normally wacky attire for an outfit that looked as if she had dressed as Kurt Cobain for Halloween.
As she gave an emotion-packed rendition of her new song “Dope,” barefoot and wearing only a flannel shirt and cap, tears started streaming down her face.
And although she may live for the “Applause,” viewers on YouTube weren’t in a cheering mood.
During her three-minute stint, more than 4,000 viewers turned out, the LA Times reported.
Gaga also hit the red carpet wearing yellow teeth.
The show, which Webcast from Pier 36 on the East River, received lukewarm interest. After about an hour, viewership had plummeted from its peak of 215,000 to about 180,000, the paper said.
While it wasn’t clear how many people in total watched the show, which was shown only on the video-posting Web site, some 60 million voted for the winners.
Among the honorees was rapper Eminem, who was anointed artist of the year.
Much of the show, hosted by actor Jason Schwartzman and comedian Reggie White, was unscripted.
“This is all about anything happening,’’ Schwartzman said before the show.
In one cringe-inducing moment, the hosts carried babies through the crowd.
The kids, probably taking their cue from Lady Gaga, cried as Schwartzman and White tried to interview rapper Macklemore and producer Ryan Lewis.
“So do we get to keep the babies?” Macklemore asked.