By Mark SavageBBC Music reporter

• 20 December 2017

Image copyrightREUTERS

Lady Gaga has announced a massive, two-year residency in Las Vegas, starting late in 2018.

"The rumours are true!" she wrote Twitter. "I will have my own residency at MGM's Park Theater. Get ready for a brand new show!

"It's been my lifelong dream to be a Las Vegas girl, I'm so overjoyed!"

The initial run will include 74 dates, with the possibility of more. According to Variety, Gaga is making more than $1 million (£750,000) per show.

In a statement, the Bad Romance star promised: "I'll leave my heart on the stage every single night."

The 31-year-old has spent much of 2017 touring the US in support of her latest album, Joanne, and is due to play in the UK early next year, having previously postponed dates to deal with "severe physical pain" arising from the medical condition fibromyalgia.

A chronic, long-term illness, its symptoms include extreme tiredness, muscle aches, difficulty sleeping and concentrating. 

Explaining the decision to postpone her European tour, Gaga said "trauma and chronic pain" were "keeping me from living a normal life". 

"They are also keeping me from what I love the most in the world: performing for my fans.

"I am looking forward to touring again soon, but I have to be with my doctors right now so I can be strong and perform for you all for the next 60 years or more."

Giving up the gruelling demands of touring to focus on a residency will presumably help her manage the condition in the future.

Gaga follows the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Shania Twain and Britney Spears in launching a Las Vegas residency - but the star, whose second-to-last album was recorded with Tony Bennett, said she was more inspired by the previous generation of performers.

"It's the land of Elvis, Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra, the Rat Pack, Elton John, Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli," she said in a statement. 

"I am humbled to be a part of a historical line-up of performers, and to have the honour of creating a new show unlike anything Vegas has ever seen before."

As well as dreaming up a new stage spectacle, the star could be heading to Vegas with new material.

Her long-term collaborator DJ White Shadow recently marked the anniversary of Gaga's fourth album, ArtPop, adding: "I can't wait to introduce you to your little sister. #LG6."

The hashtag refers to "Lady Gaga 6" - a working title for the singer's next record.

The star will also be seen next year in a remake of the Barbara Streisand and Kris Kristofferson film A Star Is Born.