Gaga first sang "Telephone" with " Dance in the Dark", the fourth single from The Fame Monster, [115] at the 2010 Brit Awards, where she wore an all-white outfit, complete with a lace mask by Philip Treacy and a Marie Antoinette-style wig. Fear of suffocation—something that I have or fear is never being able to enjoy myself, … ‘Cause I love my work so much, I find it really hard to go out and have a good time. Gaga's chemistry with Beyoncé was mostly praised; Sawdey and Billboard 's Melanie Bertoldi wrote that the song's quality was enhanced due to this chemistry.

Every time she steps onto the stage or the red carpet, you will see some of the most insane clothing and costumes. This photo shows Lady Gaga and Beyoncé walking on sand, and Gaga is seen wearing a purple feathered dress with some form of a red bow on her head. A 3-D version of the music video was made and much like the 3-D version of " Bad Romance", it is seen largely in black and white, with the exceptions to Lady Gaga and Beyoncé's lipstick and outfits.For Adam White of The Independent, "Telephone" showcased the duo at their "most basic", but deliberately so, as it was crafted for "nightclub frivolity", epitomizing the essence of "trash-pop, a noisy and glitchy slab of energy and dial tones resting entirely on their shared charisma". Gaga also wore pointed red boots, curled blonde hair, and exaggerated eye shadow embellished with makeup jewels. Labeling the video's narrative incoherent, Alyssa Rosenberg of The Atlantic disliked the use of a women's prison, muscular female prison guards and situational lesbianism. It's not just that Jerkins has come up with such a feisty track, but that Gaga has the [atti]tude to go with it.

In 2017, Gaga played "Telephone" as part of her biggest hits performances during the Super Bowl LI halftime show.

In 2009, Gaga stepped out in a red lace Alexander McQueen dress, red lace crown, and a red lace face mask. Inside a women's prison, two guards put Gaga behind bars and strip her naked while several other inmates mock her. The performance was described as more restrained compared to her previous ones by The Wall Street Journal. In February 2010, Gaga commented, "What I like about it is it's a real true pop event, and when I was younger, I was always excited when there was a big giant event happening in pop music and that's what I wanted this to be.

I’m really bad at makeup, so there’s not much to tell there, except that I filled in my eyebrows with black eyeshadow to really darken them. It was also nominated for Best Single and won Best Collaboration at the 2011 Virgin Media Music Awards. Tanner Stransky from Entertainment Weekly believed it was not on par with the video for Gaga's " Bad Romance"—the lead single from The Fame Monster [25]—but still "better than anything else out there".

Beyoncé is also pictured in a blue jacket with a wide variety of rhinestones on it while she holds a telephone. Gaga also debuted a unique hairstyle: a short, blonde cut with long strands that surrounded her head like a sun hat. I’ve loved this look ever since the music video came out ten years ago, and when I decided to do it as my costume, I knew it would be a big undertaking.

These three come from the Star Wars (Extended Universe), Dune, and Command and Conquer, respectively.When Tyrese confront the other diners at the bar at 6:01, the hanging television shows Jai Rodriguez (the reporter who later talks about the mass homicide there) reporting on Lady Gaga being bailed out of prison, again showing her booking photographs from "Paparazzi". What with its evasive dialogue and the gobs of hype leading up to its release, the video itself feels sort of like an elaborate inside joke we're all supposed to be in on.