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Much to our delight, Lady Gaga reminded us once again just why she's such an electrifying pop force during Sunday's (February 5) Super Bowl LI halftime show when she pulled out all the stops for her hits-filled set at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.
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With the Atlanta Falcons in a 21 to 3 lead over the New England Patriots in the championship game, Gaga stood atop the stadium and offered the country a soaring tribute medley of "God Bless America" and "This Land Is Your Land" as 300 drones twinkled from the sky. But for Gaga, there was only one way for her to get to the ground and that was by jumping off the stadium ledge. Cue the meme-worthy moment. There was an explosion of Gaga sound bites when the pop star landed on stage, struck a pose and delivered her first mega-hit, "Poker Face."
It wasn't long before Little Monsters saw the pop titan cover several highlights from her pop discography, including "Born This Way," a Beyoncé-less version of "Telephone" and "Just Dance." It was a spectacle that only intensified with each song until she finally slowed things down with her most recent Joanne single, "Million Reasons."
For the finale, Gaga decided to go out with a bang with an eye-popping rendition of "Bad Romance." During the number, she conjured up similar outfits, choreography and lighting to her famed music video and ended the entire set with a mic drop.
Hours before the performance, Gaga took to Instagram to announce that she was not going to invite any special guests to her set. "I'm doing these 13 minutes solo! I dedicate every second to the love, diversity, compassion, and wild spirit of our fan base," she wrote. And yet, it was a show that didn't require additional star power, courtesy of those very themes.
Prior to the Super Bowl 51 showdown, visual director/choreographer Richy Jackson told BreatheHeavy the final three words he planned to tell Gaga right before she hit the stage. "I would probably tell her what I tell her every performance. I always tell these words to her and the tour dancers, or if we're doing a video or a stage show...I say: 'Battle for cattle,'" Richy Squirrel admitted. "Battle for cattle is like, 'Listen, we have to go out there and show the world what we have.' And we're competing against ourselves, but we're also competing to have a great show and really entertain people."
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