Lady Gaga plays it safe for halftime show
To the roof, Gaga!
As rumoured, Lady Gaga, dressed in a silver spacesuit-like outfit and matching boots, opened her Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday on the top of Houston’s NRG Stadium.
The vibe was patriotic and, yes, even political, without directly mentioning U.S. President Donald Trump, as the 30-year-old singer began her 13-minute, reportedly US$10-million performance with a mash-up of God Bless America and This Land is Your Land.
The latter is a protest song by folksinger Woody Guthrie as a response to Irving Berlin’s God Bless America, which he disliked.
Then Gaga quoted from the Pledge of Allegiance: “One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
Gaga then descended from the roof on cables and into the stadium, where she sang a snippet from The Edge of Glory, leading into Poker Face.
In other words, it was a fairly safe performance, without any star collaborations — both Beyonce and Elton John had been rumoured — and political points were made in a more subtle way.
Gaga flew through the air a second time to land on the stage to join her dancers for Born This Way as two towers lit up with flames in the background.
Telephone came next, but alas, there was no appearance by Beyonce, pregnant with twins, who sings the song with Gaga on the original recording.
Just Dance found Gaga strapping on a keytar and gold jacket before she headed into the audience to play the piano on her new song Million Reasons.
“We’re here to make you feel good. You want to feel good with us?” she asked.
Gaga closed with Bad Romance while dressed in white shoulder pads and silver sequined panties and backed by dancers in white. She was propelled upward by an elevating mini-stage as fireworks exploded.
“Super Bowl 51!” she announced at the end before dropping her mike.