She’s ready again to be the full-service entertainer she was when she arrived on the pop scene.Ī performance of “Telephone” hinted at a Beyoncé cameo -Houston is Bey’s hometown, after all - but a cameo from the world’s most-famous pregnant woman was not in the cards. Her 2013 “Artpop” album and her 2014 side project with Tony Bennett halted that ascent, but Sunday’s performance was proof that Gaga wants to be back, and is back, in a major way. When Lady Gaga became an instant superstar in 20, she was the kind of whirlwind entertainer we haven’t seen in years. Surrounded by dancers, she slammed through her choreography, proving again the dexterity of her skill set.
When she hit the stage below her she segued into “Born This Way,” her anthem for LBGTQ rights, giving special emphasis to lines - “you’re black, white, beige, chola descent/ you’re Lebanese, you’re Orient” - that highlight the diversity of America’s racial makeup (and of her fanbase). She wasn’t earthbound for long, as she flew through the air, flipping like Pink, holding her vocals and hitting her notes along the way. Gaga, dressed in a shimmering, space oddity one-piece that would have made David Bowie proud, then dove off the stadium roof like Keanu Reeves jumping from an airplane in “Point Break.” She landed on a towering piece of staging, teased her hit “Edge of Glory” and launched into “Poker Face,” holding after the “Texas” line for a home-crowd pop. She then recited a passage from the Pledge of Allegiance – “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” – while a smattering of red and blue stars in the sky above her, originally separated, swirled together to form an American flag. Gaga opened her routine on the roof of Houston’s NRG Stadium singing American standards “God Bless America” and “This Land is Your Land,” the latter originally envisioned as a protest song before it was softened over the decades. "I wouldn't worry about that.Lady Gaga chose to unify rather than divide during her electrifying, high-flying performance Sunday night at halftime of Super Bowl LI. "Everything is going to be nice and tight," she said. It's the first Super Bowl in Houston since Janet Jackson's infamous "wardrobe malfunction." Lady Gaga said no such mistakes will happen on Sunday and she's been training with her dancers for weeks. "Essentially, that kid that couldn't get a seat at the cool kids table and that kid who was kicked out of the house because his mom and dad didn't accept him for who he was? That kid is going to have the stage for 13 minutes," she said. The six-time Grammy Award-winner, whose hits include "Poker Face" and "Born This Way," said she considers being asked to be the halftime headliner is due to her fans, affectionately known as "little monsters." "I'm going to keep that one to myself," she said. Lady Gaga, who admitted many of her relatives are Pittsburgh Steelers fans, wouldn't reveal who she's rooting for. The showdown between the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons airs Sunday on Fox. In addition to Lady Gaga, three original cast members of the Tony Award-winning Broadway hit "Hamilton" will sing "America the Beautiful" during pregame festivities and Luke Bryan will perform the national anthem. Airlines Cancel Thousands of Flights Over Christmas Due to COVID Toll on Crew Numbers