Lady Gaga dazzled the Super Bowl on Sunday with a high-tech, tightly choreographed half-time show celebrating American diversity and unity as she chose the power of showbiz over direct provocation.
Performing at American football’s title match — generally the most watched U.S. television event of the year — the pop diva electrified NRG Stadium in Houston with a pulsating medley of her greatest hits.
From the outset, Gaga served notice this was no ordinary halftime show — she began her performance from the lip of the stadium, an army of 300 drones forming a twinkling American flag in the sky.
Then she took flight. The singer, clad in a sparkling silver bodysuit and knee high boots, leapt from the edge of the retractable roof onto the stage with the help of some sturdy wires — and the performance was non-stop from there.
Ahead of the show, all eyes were on Lady Gaga to see whether she would use the platform to rip into President Donald Trump at a tense time in U.S. politics. Gaga — a sworn foe of Trump — kept with the game’s guidelines to steer clear of overt politics. Instead the singer delivered what seemed to be a more subtle message.
“How are you doing tonight, Texas? How are you doing tonight, America?” Gaga asked. “We’re here to make you feel good,” she said. She opened with This Land is Your Land, the anthem by leftist folk legend Woody Guthrie that has come to be seen as an alternative national anthem for the U.S. Gaga then mixed up her biggest songs — from Just Dance and Poker Face to Born This Way — an anthem of inclusion in which she speaks of acceptance of people regardless of ethnicity or sexual orientation.
Diverse cast
She was backed up by an upbeat, ethnically diverse cast of dancers, who at one point joined in a group hug. “No matter gay, straight or bi... You’re Lebanese / You’re orient,” she sang. “Whether life’s disabilities left you outcast, bullied or teased / Rejoice and love yourself today!”
Gaga could not pull off many costume changes but by the end had stripped off her metallic dress to perform in hot pants, football shoulder pads — and the stiletto-heeled boots. Hours after the Super Bowl, Lady Gaga announced an international tour, her first in three years.
Lady Gaga will open the tour on August 1 in Vancouver and play 47 stadiums and arenas across North America and Europe. — AFP
