MUSIC Lessons for Gaga’s Super Bowl gig
Bruce Springsteen’s stage slide. Prince’s white sheet. Beyoncé’s bullet belt. An artist’s Super Bowl halftime performance is one of their career’s most enduring moments — which, as Janet Jackson’s Nipplegate controversy proved, isn’t always a good thing.
On Sunday, it’s Lady Gaga’s turn. Her halftime performance at Super Bowl LI bookends a year of high- profile gigs for the star, who sang the national anthem at the 2016 Super Bowl before performances at last year’s Grammys, Oscars and Victoria’s Secret Fashion show.
Gaga’s Super Bowl appearance also is the culmination of her years- long image makeover, as she’s transitioned from a costumed pop provocateur to a rock ’ n’ roll- loving, Tony Bennett- collaborating image of main stream accessibility.
Here are valuable lessons she can learn from past Super Bowl performers.
1 KEEP THINGS PG
The NFL has invited its share of rebels to the halftime show. Sometimes, the gamble pays off, such as Prince’s suggestiveyet- electrifying 2007 performance. In some cases including Janet Jackson’s nip slip in 2004, it didn’t. Lady Gaga is no stranger to controversy. But in recent years, she has cleaned up her act. Artists who violate decency standards risk heavy penalties, from the NFL’s $ 16.6 million lawsuit against M. I. A. for flipping the bird during Madonna’s 2012 set to Jackson’s FCC controversy and damaged public image. Gaga would be wise to extend her clean streak into her Super Bowl show.
2TREAD CAREFULLY
If Lady Gaga wants to incite riots, she can learn from Beyoncé, who courted controversy by performing her political anthem Formation last year backed by dancers in Black Panther- referencing costumes. The NFL has debunked rumors it forbade Gaga from making political statements, so it’s unknown whether the star will use her platform to speak out against President Trump. For amore inclusive message, she might look to U2’ s 2002 performance. With the nation still reeling from the 9/ 11 attacks, the band sang Where the Streets Have No Name in front of a scrolling backdrop remembering the victims. Bono ended by opening his jacket to reveal a U. S. flag.
3PICK A RELEVANT GUEST
Super Bowl performers often invite guests, whether to incorporate a different genre or to make the show more memorable. But the wrong cameo can sink a set. 2001’ s star- studded lineup of Aerosmith, Britney Spears, Nelly, Mary J. Blige and ’ N Sync inspired too many celebrity- clogged performances in the following years. Sometimes, the guest star feels laughably random, such as the Black Eyed Peas inviting Slash onstage in 2011. The best guests play on an element of surprise. Inviting a rock icon would complement Gaga’s performance.
4SOMETIMES, SIMPLE WORKS BEST
Many of the past decade’s best halftime shows have focused less on cameos and more on the performances. . And as Bruce Springsteen proved in 2009, a successful halftime show can be as simple as a world- class band, a dynamic vocalist and a well- placed camera.