Lady Gaga Says Alter Ego Jo Calderone Was a Way to Explore What She “Was Looking for in Men”

It’s hard to forget Lady Gaga‘s alter ego, Jo Calderone.

Back in 2011, Gaga make a notable appearance as the suave Jo, who is described as “a mechanic from Sicily” at the 2011 MTV Music Video Awards. There, Jo pulled off a memorable performance of Gaga’s song “Yoü and I” and presented Britney Spears with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award — where the two almost re-created Spears and Madonna’s kiss at the same award show in 2003.

Jo was also featured in the “Yoü and I” music video. However, the first debut to the world was on the September 2010 cover of Japanese Men’s Vogue.

The Born This Way singer recently revealed to Them that the persona helped her come to terms with how she viewed men at the time. “That was actually kind of a big moment for me as a woman to put all the pent-up fear or anger I had about relationships into one character.”

Gaga continued, “‘Yoü and I’ was actually, I think, the first video that I ever did where I played multiple me’s, and I brought that back on Mayhem. But Jo was an important character for me. It’s the way I explored what I was looking for in men, and also what I was maybe lacking in myself.”

Last month, Gaga told Vanity Fair‘s polygraph test that Jo was “no longer with us.” But when asked by Them what she meant, Gaga said “the character is no longer with me. But I wish Jo all the best.”

The Oscar winner also spoke about her next project, which is her seventh studio album, Mayhem and its themes. “I was always kind of fascinated with some kind of inner torture since the beginning of my career. I think I’ve always felt a little bit at war with myself. Like there was a soft side of me, but then also this really intense side and a desire to be heard,” she said. “On this album, I was taking a really long, hard look at the last 20 years. And I think it’s interesting that I ended up calling my album Mayhem.”

The album will be released March 7.