Lady Gaga to receive John Lennon award

Lady Gaga is to be honoured for her political activism by Yoko Ono with a special award in memory of her late husband John Lennon.

The pop superstar will be handed the biennial LennonOno Grant For Peace at a special ceremony in Iceland later this month (Oct12), and will also accept a charitable donation for the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

Announcing the news on Friday (05Oct12), Ono says, "Lady Gaga is one of the biggest living artists of our time. She is not only an artist, she is also an activist, using her art to bring better communication to the world.

"She is being acknowledged for her activism, and how her album Born This Way has widely changed the mental map of the world. And how it has made us deal with the future world, which happens to be here already."

Last month (Sep12), controversial Russian punks Pussy Riot were named among the recipients of this year's (12) LennonOno Grant For Peace.

Gaga has long cited Lennon as one of her greatest influences, and even has a peace sign tattooed on her wrist in memory of her idol.