Lady Gaga brings her style to the national anthem
Lady Gaga delivered a stunning performance of the national anthem at Wednesday’s inauguration of President Joe Biden.
In typically extravagant fashion, the pop star dressed in a jaw-dropping navy and red Schiaparelli Haute Couture gown, adorned with a golden dove symbolizing peace. She completed the look with braids and a coordinating gold microphone, earning comparisons to royalty and “The Hunger Games” on social media.
Her rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” was theatrical and rousing, with arms raised as she smiled and looked around at the masked crowd surrounding her outside the U.S. Capitol. Compared to her more measured and emotional performance of the anthem at the 2016 Super Bowl, her inaugural take on the song was dynamic and uplifting, showcasing her signature vibrato and impressive range.
Gaga joins a list of women including Jackie Evancho (2017), Beyoncé (2013), Marilyn Horne (1993), Juanita Booker (1981) and Ethel Ennis (1973) who have
sang the national anthem at presidential inaugurations.
She has long been one of Biden’s most out-front celebrity supporters and friends. In 2016, the then-vice president introduced Gaga on the Oscars telecast, where she performed her Oscar-nomi
nated song “Til It Happens to You” from documentary “The Hunting Ground.” They then teamed up for the It’s On Us campaign, which fights to raise awareness about sexual assault on college campuses.
The singer also joined Biden on the campaign trail last November, appearing with him in Pennsylvania the day before the election and performing at a drive-in rally, where she sang her hits “Shallow” and “You and I.”
“If you’re here, you probably already believe in Joe Biden. I know I believe in Joe Biden,” Gaga said outside Heinz Field stadium in Pittsburgh. “You probably already believe he’s the right choice over Donald Trump. You don’t need me to tell you why. Because, like me, you’ve experienced the last four years and have all the evidence you need to look at this choice and know in your heart, without any doubt, that Joe Biden is the right choice.”
Gaga was highly critical of Trump throughout his four-year term, most recently denouncing his rhetoric following the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol by the former president’s supporters earlier this month.
“I hope we focus to impeach Trump so Congress has the constitutional authority to possibly disqualify him from future election,” she wrote on Twitter. “The #25thAmendment doesn’t disqualify him. He incited domestic terror – how much more violence needs to happen? This is terrorism.”