Gaga’s Ball Rolls Into 2011

Team Gaga announced the first round of shows for the extended run of Monster Ball this morning, with the new trek launching February 19 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.

Other cities scheduled to get a second look at what U.K. paper The Sun called “breathtaking stuff” and “the best live show you will see this year” include Pittsburgh, Toronto, Boston, Las Vegas, Houston, New Orleans, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami and Atlanta.

Joining Gaga on her epic journey are rapidly rising glam rockers Semi Precious Weapons.

Tickets for select cities go on sale May 14. Fans who purchase tickets for The Monster Ball will also get access to an exclusive Lady Gaga song.

Look for lots more dates to be announced soon, as well as additional onsale info.

It’s hard to believe it was just over two years ago that Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance” announced her arrival on the music scene. Since then the singer has dropped not one, but two albums – The Fame and The Fame Monster – that have pretty much established a permanent home in the Top 20 on music charts around the globe, as well as a wildly popular remix compilation.

Then there are the monster singles – eight to date, including “Poker Face,” “Paparazzi,” “Bad Romance,” “Telephone” and the latest, “Alejandro,” which is poised to rocket up the charts carrying a digital remix EP with it.

Gaga has also established herself as a fashion icon onstage – the New York Times noted “her Monster Ball tour always provided something worth a snapshot: a sci-fi tableau, perhaps or a skimpy, glittery costume. The more her image gets around, the better Lady Gaga does” – and off, telling BBC’s Jonathan Ross “I would rather die than have my fans not see me in a pair of high heels.”

Along the way to superstardom, the singer has managed to smash all kinds of records – including racking up a combined total of more than 1 billion views of her videos online – and collect awards from both her peers (two Grammys, three Brits and three Echos) and fans (two Peoples Choice awards, a Teen Choice award , three MTV Video Music awards and the U.K.’s Record of the Year award).