Following her reactions towards the election of President Trump, many people expected Lady Gaga’s halftime performance to be extremely political. For those who watched her performance, it was safe to say Mother Monster had something else planned for us.
Gaga kept the message of her performance entirely focused on acceptance and equality. She started her performance off by singing “God Bless America” and transitioned into “This Land is Your Land.” She then concluded with the last line of the Pledge of Allegiance: “One Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all,” emphasizing highly on the “for all” part.
Some could have argued that this type of introduction could lead to a very political performance. Surprisingly, Gaga kept politics out of her performance from this point on, focusing entirely on her passion for equality and acceptance. Choosing to begin her performance by singing patriotic anthems highlighted the idea of unity she wanted to portray on stage. The diversity of her dancers was also a key point in proving the message of equality within the performance.
When Gaga sang “Born This Way”, she specifically emphasized the following lyrics. “No matter gay, straight, or bi, lesbian, transgendered life/I’m on the right track baby/I was born to survive.” Why is this important? Two reasons—Vice President, Mike Pence, who does not support the LGBTQ community, was in attendance and this was the first time the word “transgendered” had been used in a halftime performance.
Though she may have protested outside of Trump Tower after the results of the election, Gaga did not voice this political opinion through her performance. Her feel-good setlist included “Poker Face”, “Born This Way”, “Telephone”, “Just Dance”, “Million Reasons” and “Bad Romance”, while adding those few patriotic songs in the beginning. Mid set, Gaga told the crowd, “We’re here to make you feel good.” She then asked the crowd, “Want to feel good with us?” Gaga’s intentions then become clear, hoping to spread love and positivity through her music.
Though we were hoping for a certain surprise guest during “Telephone”, Lady Gaga delivered a fantastic performance, portraying her talent without the dramatics like she may have been known for in the past. She promised us no crazy costumes, and she looked great! There were tons of shiny costumes and glitter everywhere. She even used a keytar on stage—one of the hardest and most under-rated instruments ever.
Of course, Gaga had to go out with a bang—like an epic mic drop, catching a football in mid-air, while jumping off the stage type of bang.
If you missed Lady Gaga’s performance, be sure to check it out on Youtube!