Lady Gaga performs in drag as alter ego Joe at 2011 MTV VMAs

By Sophie Forbes and Ellie Genower





While the world's fashion critics waited with baited breath for Lady Gaga to take the stage at tonight's MTV Video Music Awards no one had any idea what they were about to see.



The always eccentric and shocking star stunned the crowd as she performed dressed in drag, donning a scruffy looking ensemble of a white T-shirt and black trousers with a black Danny Zucco style wig and make up to draw out her masculine features.



Scroll down to watch video of the performances...



Who's that girl? Lady Gaga stuns the audience at the MTV Video Music Awards by performing dressed as a man



Smoking hot: Gaga began her performance with an unusual speech that lasted several minutes





The unusual and quirky character - who Gaga has named Joe Calderone - then stayed with the star for the entire night, presenting Britney Spears with her lifetime achievement award and even accepting her own award 'on behalf of Gaga.'



Interestingly, the character even has his own Twitter page which currently had over 36,000 followers.



During her on stage performance Gaga brought rock legend Brian May, the lead guitarist of Queen, out to play alongside her.



Rock legend: Gaga brought Queen lead guitarist Brian May on stage to perform with her sending the crowd into a frenzy



Fan favourite: Singer Adele received a standing ovation before and after her performance of Someone Like You





She then busted out some dance moves with a group of male dancers who were all dressed identically to her.



The performance of the night came from British singing sensation Adele who was nominated for Video Of The Year.



Glamour: Jessie J, who acted as the house performer for the evening perched in her throne, while Pitbull performed his scandal-hit song Give Me Everything





The soulful songstress received a standing ovation before and after she sang her hit Someone Like You, with just a spotlight and a piano to accompany her.



The breathtaking song had the entire audience swaying and proved that Adele is definitely back at her best just a couple of months after having to cancel her American tour earlier this summer after suffering from a bout of Laryngitis.



The boys: Jay-Z and Kanye stormed the stage with heir new track Otis from the number one album Watch The Throne



Fan frenzy: Yet again a fan stormed the stage during the performance and ran towards Kanye before being stopped by security





From slow to to fast paced, Kanye West and Jay-Z then stormed the stage to bounce their way through Otis off their number one album Watch The Throne.



The boys got an extra surprise halfway through the track when crazy fan ran on stage and attempted to interrupt the song.



The duo seemed unfazed and didn't skip a beat while security grabbed the man and dragged him away.



Mom-to-be: Beyonce took to the stage in a sparkling tuxedo jacket which she ripped off at the end of the song to display a baby bump



Superstar: The singer sang and danced her way through her performance with her proud husband watching from the audience





Jay's wife Beyonce watched from the front row before taking to the stage herself.



The glowing songstress strutted her stuff for the audience in a sparkling purple sequined tuxedo jacket which she then ripped open at the end of the song to display her growing baby bump which she then rubbed affectionately.



The cameras panned to the audience where Jay-Z was beaming, as his friend Kanye jumped up and down, smacking the father-to-be on the back.



RIP: Footage was aired of Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse was played in tribute to the late singer



In tribute: Bruno Mars sang a rendition of the late musician's song Valerie





The singer didn't let her pregnancy prevent her from bringing the house down with an energetic performance.



Wild rapper Lil Wayne was extremely energetic as he bounced around the stage during his performance of How To Love but got heavily censored by the TV Network during the telecast for his prolific use of foul language as he rallied the crowd.



Meanwhile, Chris Brown officially rejoined the MTV family by performing for the first time since he plead guilty to assaulting Rhianna back in 2009.



High energy: Rapper Lil Wayne jumped around the stage during his performance of How To Love



Spectacular: Chris Brown provided the audience with an acrobatic aerial show during his performance



Swinger: Chris Brown jumped and flew his way across the room





The R&B artist had the entire audience on their feet as he flew above them on wires and busted out some impressive dance moves during a multi-song set that included a cover of Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit.



In a heart wrenching tribute to Amy Winehouse, her friend Russell Brand introduced a clip, believed to be the last known official footage of the star before her death last month.



Recalling the first time he laid eyes on the singer, he said: ‘I turned into the arena and I see Amy Winehouse, the incredible extraordinary voice coming from the crazy person.



Achievement: Gaga, or Joe, presented Britney Spears with a Lifetime Achievement award in an expletive filled speech



Been there, done that: Gaga tried to initiate an onstage kiss, but Spears shied away saying 'I've done that already. I'm a good old fashioned girl'



Buddies: Katy Perry and Kanye West shared the award for Best Collaboration for the single E.T.

with Katy joking that Kanye wasn't allowed to interrupt her acceptance speech





‘When a talent like Amy Winehouse comes along everyone is influenced.’



During the clip, which was shot just weeks before her death on July 23, Tony Bennett was seen performing a song with the star for his upcoming duets album.



‘I went to the abbey studios in London and i recorded with Amy Winehouse and she was so unbelievable because, of all the young artists I’ve met in the last 20 years, she was a true jazz artist in the tradition of Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holliday,' he said about Amy.



Affectionate: Britney thanked her boyfriend Jason Trawick as she accepted her speech



Jokers: Nicki Minaj joked around onstage about co-presenter Jonah Hill's weight loss



Rock legends: The Foo Fighters picked up the award for Best Rock Video





'She had the gift. you can't just be a jazz singer, you either got it or you haven't. And Amy is a true jazz artist.'



Singer Bruno Mars then took to the stage to perform a heart-warming and fitting tribute to the late singer with his own rendition of her hit song Valerie.















source:dailymail