You could say that Lady Gaga blew the roof off of NRG Stadium during her absolutely electrifying Pepsi Zero Sugar Super Bowl LI Halftime Show.
She channeled her inner Peter Pan, showcased her tremendous range as a performer — even singing what sounded like live (a rarity during halftime shows) during her elegant ballad, “Million Reasons” — and teased the crowd with a performance of “Telephone,” her 2009 duet with rumored halftime guest Beyoncé.
But this Lady needed no help during her 13-minute performance, which launched, literally, with her standing on the stadium roof to sing a respectful tribute to America.
Clad in a David Bowie-esque space age leotard and stiletto boots, Gaga belted portions of “God Bless America” and “This Land is Your Land” and recited some of the Pledge of Allegiance before floating down into the stadium on wires.
As she landed on the futuristic metal set, she unleashed athletic dance moves on a double punch of “The Edge of Glory” and “Poker Face” and was quickly swarmed by a troupe of dancers for her anthem of inclusion, “Born This Way.”
Then it was off to a breathless romp that demonstrated how nimble Gaga is on stage. She strapped on a keytar — accompanied by a gold jacket with lethal-looking spiked shoulders — and played with one hand while singing her first hit, 2008’s No. 1 smash “Just Dance.”
Then she scooted to a piano and briefly addressed the crowd in the stadium and elsewhere.
“We’re here to make you feel good. You want to feel good with us?” she asked rhetorically as she delved into “Million Reasons” and managed to half-stand on the piano bench, shout out a hello to her parents in the crowd and embrace some fans on the field.
But the show needed to end on a fiery note — fireworks aside — so it made sense that Gaga raced back onstage in a midriff-baring shirt for her pop-rock stomper “Bad Romance,” which she ended with a mic drop.
Message received.
Earlier in the night, the original ladies of Broadway’s “Hamilton,” Phillipa Soo, Tony-winner Renee Elise Goldsberry and Jasmine Cephas Jones reunited moments before the kickoff of Super Bowl 2017 to sing “America the Beautiful.”
The theater vets doused the song with a triple layer of harmonies and several vocal flourishes, while also adding, to great applause in NRG Stadium, the word “sisterhood” to the song.
Leesburg native Luke Bryan stayed true and steady in his rendition of the national anthem.
Patting his heart lightly before starting his first low note, the country star paced himself well — for those of you who bet on how long the national anthem would take to sing, he delivered it in 2 minutes and 4 seconds — and ignored a few nasty bursts of feedback as he sang.
Clad in dark pants, a dark zip-up jacket and maroon shirt, Bryan proved that while he isn’t the flashiest singer, his version of the song was heartfelt, if not necessarily memorable.
Georgia was also represented at a pre-game concert produced by the NFL’s hospitality sponsor, On Location Experiences.
Lady Antebellum, whose Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood hail from Augusta, presented a brisk, 40-minute set of hits, including "Downtown," "American Honey" — which featured their trademark harmonies and Haywood on acoustic guitar — and their saucy new single, "You Look Good," complete with live horn section.
A lot of people on this stage are for the Falcons,” singer Hillary Scott said. “We have a lot of Georgians here.”
