Lady Gaga Opens Super Bowl LI Halftime Show With Tribute to America
— -- Lady Gaga stole the show at Super Bowl LI in Houston, beginning the Pepsi Zero Sugar halftime show with a medley of "God Bless America" and "This Land Is Your Land" before reciting a portion of the Pledge of Allegiance.
Gaga then broke into her hit "Poker Face" while hoisted in the air. She wore a long-sleeved sparkling leotard.
The retractable roof at NRG Stadium opened up just before Lady Gaga started her 12-minute performance.
Dozens of backup dancers joined Lady Gaga on the stage for a rendition of “Born This Way,” which she followed up with “Telephone.”
She played a keytar -- a portable keyboard in the shape of an electric guitar -- on stage for “Just Dance."
“America, world, how you doing tonight? We’re here to make you feel good. You wanna feel good with us?” Gaga asked the crowd before she performed “Million Reasons” on the piano.
Known for her dramatic costumes, Lady Gaga wore a sparkling crop top with shoulder pads that appeared to resemble football pads for "Bad Romance." The crop top was paired with matching boyshort bottoms.
Shortly after the big game concluded, the pop star announced her 2017 Joanne World Tour via Twitter. The forthcoming tour will be her first as a solo headlining artist since 2014.
Last week, Lady Gaga said she hoped her Super Bowl performance brings people together.
"I believe in a passion for inclusion, I believe in the spirit of equality and that the spirit of this country is one of love and compassion and kindness," she told reporters. "So my performance will uphold those philosophies."
Gaga performed the national anthem during Super Bowl 50 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Other notable performances at the 51st Super Bowl were the original Schuyler Sisters in the Broadway musical "Hamilton," Phillipa Soo, Renée Elise Goldsberry, and Jasmine Cephas Jones, who sang "America the Beautiful," and country star Luke Bryan, who sang the national anthem.
