Lady Gaga plays it safe at Super Bowl halftime show
Without a doubt, Lady Gaga's an A-lister, with a mighty voice, magnetic stage presence and a likely long career of achievements ahead.
But you can't deny there would have been greater buzz for her Super Bowl halftime show Sunday if we were still in 2010, before mediocre material and inconsistent shows dimmed her star a bit.
And if Gaga was given the halftime show invite back then, you'd have to think, it would have been more creative and daring than the safe, and ultimately uninspired, spectacle she presented at Super Bowl LI Sunday at NRG Stadium in Houston.
To her credit, Gaga was clearly striving for unification, an admirable goal for an event that, theoretically, intended to push our country's immense divisions aside. So it was a good call to start with "God Bless America," and Gaga singing it from the roof of the stadium, under lighted drones that formed the American flag, was a fine concept for a dramatic kickoff. But Gaga's overwrought performance overshadowed a potentially meaningful moment.
From there, Gaga literally lunged into self-parody, plunging down into the stadium via suspension cables, a la Tom Cruise in "Mission: Impossible." It was a mighty fall, but Gaga didn't possess the grace or charisma of P!nk's past jaw-dropping aerobatic feats. Instead, she looked like Melissa McCarthy flailing around in Sunday's cartoonish Kia ad. And once Gaga landed on her feet and mugged her way through "Poker Face," she came across more like a Kate McKinnon impersonation on "Saturday Night Live" than the real deal.
From there Gaga aggressively powered through heavily choreographed performances of "Born This Way," "Telephone," "Just Dance" and "Bad Romance," slowing things down for a maudlin rendition of "A Million Reasons." But the moves, the stage set-up, the generically flashy sets and lighting design all lacked the bold imagination that once suggested Gaga would be a groundbreaking artist.
Sunday, she finally stepped onto the biggest stage in music — and delivered the kind of predictable pop star performance she once fearlessly rallied against.
THE SETLIST
1. "God Bless America"
2. "Poker Face"
3. "Born This Way"
4. "Telephone"
5. "Just Dance"
6. "A Million Reasons"
7. "Bad Romance"
More On Music
Find out about the week's must-see shows, concert tickets and more in the newsletter "Piet Levy's Music Picks." Subscribe at jsonline.com/newsletters.
Piet talks about concerts, local music and more on "TAP'd In" with Jordan Lee, 8 a.m. Thursdays on WYMS-FM (88.9).