WASHINGTON — It was a Super Bowl for the ages. Not only did the New England Patriots mount the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history over the Atlanta Falcons, Super Bowl 51 also delivered an instant classic halftime show.
After a video countdown by her Grammy-winning duet partner Tony Bennett, versatile music icon Lady Gaga appeared atop Houston’s NRG Stadium to sing “God Bless America” and “This Land is Your Land,” as 300 drones sparkled in red, white and blue to form an American flag above in the night sky.
Then suddenly, Gaga leaped from the roof — yes, you heard that right — and was carried down to the stage by a harness, twisting and turning her way to a tower structure recalling her Monster Ball Tour.
“I’m on the edge!” she declared, the perfect lyrics for leaping off the edge of the stadium. Freezing momentarily like Michael Jackson’s 1993 halftime performance, she delivered the lyric, “I wanna hold ’em like they do in Texas, please,” pausing to let the Texas crowd soak up the hometown reference.
With lights flashing and fireworks exploding, Gaga rattled off hit after hit, from “Poker Face” to “Born This Way” to “Telephone,” living up to her pre-game promise of an “inclusive” performance for “everyone” without any overt political statements other than what was already in her lyrics: “I’m beautiful in my way, ‘Cause God makes no mistakes, I’m on the right track, baby I was born this way.”
Along the way, it looked like she was actually singing amid her intense dance choreography, putting past performers to shame for obvious lip-syncing — yes, even Madonna and Michael Jackson. This is always a risk — the Black Eyes Peas were gasping for breath — but Gaga nailed it from start to finish.
Musically, she showed the world what her fans have known for years: that she’s more than just a Meat Dress, but rather a truly versatile talent, playing her own keyboard on “Just Dance” and her own piano on “A Million Reasons,” as she slowed things down while giving a shout out to her parents.
As the performance reached its crescendo, she closed out with her biggest dance hit, “Bad Romance.” Donning what resembled a pair of football shoulder pads, she ran to the top of a ramp, slammed the microphone with a killer “mic drop” and jumped off the stage to catch an aerial football pass in a final risk-taking moment — what if she dropped it? — as she disappeared off the bottom of the TV frame.
Fox says 111.3 million viewers tuned in for Sunday’s big event, which began with “Hamilton” cast members Phillipa Soo, Renee Elise Goldsberry and Jasmine Cephas Jones harmonizing to “America the Beautiful.” After the well-known lyric, “And crown thy good with brotherhood,” the trio added the lyric, “And sisterhood,” drawing a smile from Falcons coach Dan Quinn, while Patriots Coach Bill Belichick looked stone-faced. From here, country star Luke Bryan sang “The Star Spangled Banner.”
The performances were some of the night’s many highlights, not least of which was the game itself.
Falcons receiver Julio Jones and Patriots receiver Julian Edelman pulled off two of the craziest catches in the final minutes of regulation, while Patriots quarterback Tom Brady engineered a comeback to overcome a 28-3 deficit and force overtime before a game-winning drive to win 34-28.
The victory marks the fifth Super Bowl championship for Belichick and his field general Brady, who now has more Super Bowl titles than any other quarterback in history, passing both Joe Montana of the San Francisco 49ers and Terry Bradshaw of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who each won four apiece.
How special is this dynasty? The New England Patriots have dominated the NFL for the entire post-9/11 era, their first Super Bowl coming in the 2001-02 season. With five Super Bowl rings, seven Super Bowl appearances and countless more AFC title games, the team is rewriting the record books.
And if the Patriots are making history, so is Lady Gaga, who joins Prince, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce and Bruno Mars on the short list of the best Super Bowl halftime performances we’ve seen.
On Monday, Lady Gaga announced she’s coming to Verizon Center on Nov. 19. Tickets go on sale Feb. 20.
