JUDAS PRIEST's ROB HALFORD On His Love Of LADY GAGA: 'I'll Still Be Banging My Head To 'Paparazzi' On My Deathbed'

In a new interview with Houston Chronicle, JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford was asked which pop artists are currently on his playlist. He responded: "Chappell [Roan] is amazing. I turned on to [Lady] Gaga instantly. Her talent is just extraordinary. And she says she's a huge fan of Chappell. The way that the torch is passed from performer to performer, artist to artist, it's a beautiful thing to do.

"What's remarkable about people like Gaga or Taylor Swift is their longevity," he continued. "They're called pop artists. Is that the right word to call them? I don't know. But pop, for as long as I can remember, for the most part, and don't get me wrong here, it's almost dispensable because there's so much of it. It's such a beautiful expression. It's like catching fireflies. Pop songs can be gigantic, and then you'll never hear them again. But then you'll get a Madonna or a Cher or a Gaga, or hopefully Chappell or a Taylor Swift. The way they craft their music, it becomes immortal. I'll still be banging my head to 'Paparazzi' on my deathbed. I don't know whether it's because I'm a gay man and I just have this joy and love of all things creative and arts, I absorb it. I don't believe in barriers. I don't believe in walls. I don't believe in censorship. I think that all music is a feast. All of it touches me in various ways. And I translate all of that into my own work."

Halford previously spoke about his love of Lady Gaga in a September 2020 interview with People. Asked which songs he would want to perform with Lady Gaga if he was to ever share the stage with the pop superstar, he said: "I would definitely do 'Born This Way' because that's our anthem," referring to the LGBTQ community. "As far as PRIEST songs go, I think I'd like to do 'Breaking The Law' with her because it talks about the frustration that we go through, particularly as young people. 'You don't know what it's like, you haven't got a clue. You'd do the same thing too. Breaking the law.'"

Halford told People that he "instantly knew" Lady Gaga "was going to be gigantic as an artist" when he first discovered her music. "I became a big fan of everything that she's done and that's because I love all kinds of music," he said. "She's the best at what she does."

Halford also recalled the time she met Lady Gaga when he showed up — with mutual friend Lady Starlight — to the pop singer's 2014 "ArtRave" tour in San Diego as a surprise.

"When Gaga started her performance, me and Starlight snuck out into the audience," he recalled. "I was clapping and hooting and hollering like fans, and Gaga's making her way out to them and then she sees us, and she literally falls to her knees and crumbles onto the floor. And Starlight's digging me in the ribs going, 'See, I knew she'd be happy that you were here.'"

Rob added: "She's so pure, she's so in touch with herself as a person, and the great, great, great, great things that she's done for the LGBTQ community."

Back in May 2015, Halford revealed to Yahoo! Music that during one of the London gigs on JUDAS PRIEST's "Epitaph" tour, Gaga was planning to appear as a special guest. "Gaga called and said, 'Can I get on the back of Rob's bike when he comes out and we'll do 'Hell Bent For Leather'?" he said. "I was like, 'Oh my God! Diva moment. Please let this happen!' But she couldn't do it. She ended up doing a shoot in Omaha, Nebraska, that took a week." He added: "If that isn't a nice affirmation that someone with extraordinary talent that isn't metal can still gravitate to the metal experience, I don't know what is."

Lady Gaga previously spoke about her love for IRON MAIDEN and BLACK SABBATH, calling the experience of seeing MAIDEN for the first time a "life-changing" event. The singer also appeared in photos with Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee Alice Cooper and ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante.

Lady Gaga sang the song "Moth Into Flame" with METALLICA at the 59th annual Grammy Awards in 2017 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.