{"id":88105,"date":"2017-02-05T23:28:27","date_gmt":"2017-02-06T04:28:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=88105"},"modified":"2017-02-05T23:28:27","modified_gmt":"2017-02-06T04:28:27","slug":"lady-gaga-delivers-a-show-big-on-flash-and-inclusiveness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2017\/02\/05\/lady-gaga-delivers-a-show-big-on-flash-and-inclusiveness\/","title":{"rendered":"Lady Gaga delivers a show big on flash and inclusiveness"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Lady<\/a>
Lady Gaga dropped from the top of Houston’s NRG Stadium to open her halftime show and dropped the mic at the end, offering a program that delivered high-energy hits and an inclusive theme. (Photo: Lady Gaga\/ Facebook<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NEW YORK \u2013Lady Gaga dropped from the top of Houston’s NRG Stadium to open her halftime show and dropped the mic at the end, offering a program that delivered high-energy hits and an inclusive theme.<\/p>\n

With the nation on edge politically, the NFL had little taste for a show that would ruffle feathers, as Beyonce did in some circles last year with the Black Power messaging of \u201cFormation.\u201d Gaga plainly listened.<\/p>\n

She was patriotic from the start, opening with snippets of \u201cGod Bless America\u201d and \u201cThis Land is Your Land\u201d with red and blue lights twinkling above her, before guide wires delivered her to the stage below. Her hit \u201cBorn This Way\u201d became a gay rights anthem but in the context of Sunday’s show fit into the idea of accepting differences, a thread through much of the game’s commercial messaging.<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump’s name didn’t come up. Gaga’s most notable ad-lib? Saying hi to mom and dad.<\/p>\n

Once onstage, she commanded a large troupe of dancers and musicians, props that breathed fire and audience members swinging lights in synchronization \u2013the usual excess that has become a Super Bowl cliche.<\/p>\n

Yet Gaga commanded the show herself, unlike many predecessors who brought in guest stars to bolster their act. An expected appearance by Tony Bennett, a frequent duet partner, didn’t take place. He was relegated to a brief role in a commercial.<\/p>\n

With that pressure, Gaga acquitted herself well. Hits like \u201cPoker Face\u201d and \u201cJust Dance\u201d were frothy and fun. Her best performance came in her least-known song: \u201cMillion Reasons,\u201d where she sat at the piano and explored a new style that has advanced beyond the dance pop of her youth.<\/p>\n

The finale \u201cBad Romance\u201d was a crowd pleaser. Gaga, who had spent much of the evening in a metallic space suit, emerged in her third outfit of the performance, a midriff baring costume topped off by football-like shoulder pads. She threw down the microphone and jumped off a platform to disappear at the end.<\/p>\n

She promised inoffensiveness and good vibes \u2013and mission accomplished.<\/p>\n

The Super Bowl halftime show, with an audience usually topping 100 million, is easily the biggest show of an artist’s career. It’s so attention-getting that Las Vegas even set odds on what colour Gaga’s hair would be. Those who bet blonde took home some money.<\/p>\n

Before the game, singers Phillipa Soo, Renee Elise Goldsberry and Jasmine Cephas Jones \u2013the Schuyler sisters from the original cast of Broadway’s hit \u201cHamilton\u201d \u2013brought exquisite three-part harmony to a version of \u201cAmerica the Beautiful.\u201d They made an inclusive editing choice, with Jones adding \u201cand sisterhood\u201d to the lyrical reference of brotherhood.<\/p>\n

Fox’s own editing choice added a downer to a nice moment, cutting to a camera shot of New England’s scowling coach Bill Belichick as the song ended.<\/p>\n

Country star Luke Bryan played it straight for \u201cThe Star Spangled Banner,\u201d adding few showy flourishes while taking care not to rush through the moment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2013Lady Gaga dropped from the top of Houston’s NRG Stadium to open her halftime show and dropped the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":88106,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,106],"tags":[1041,8977],"class_list":["post-88105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","category-hollywood","tag-lady-gaga","tag-super-bowl","mauthors-david-bauder","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88105"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88105\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}