Super Bowl LI halftime show

Synopsis

The halftime show started on the roof of NRG Stadium with Gaga singing "God Bless America" with drones doing a light show of red, blue and white behind her. She then sings Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land", followed by part of the Pledge of Allegiance: "One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all". Gaga then dived from the rooftop as the drones behind formed the design of the US flag. The singer came down and stood on a tall pillar across the stage, and started singing "Poker Face" as fireworks emanated behind her. After the first verse and chorus, Gaga again bounced from the pillar to the main stage, and was joined by her dancers to sing "Born This Way", including its intermediate spoken verse.

As the performance ended, Gaga headed towards one corner of the stage inside a star shaped structure, and started singing a solo version of "Telephone". She was carried by a dancer to the main stage again where the performance ended. Gaga then carried a keytar and started singing "Just Dance" with a dancer holding the microphone. The singer proceeded to the grounds from the stage as the song completed. She reached a podium with a piano, as a prompt flashed on the Jumbotron asking the audience to use their smartphone lights when the message "Go! Flashlights" hit the screen. Gaga sang "Million Reasons" as the audience drifted off in different directions holding the light sticks in their hands. Continuing the song, she came down from the stage and hugged members of the audience. For the finale of "Bad Romance" a team of white-clad dancers strutted across the main stage. Gaga joined them wearing a football inspired costume and performed the track, as synchronized choreography was performed by the audience in front of the stage. As fireworks erupted heralding the end of the show, Gaga shouted "Super Bowl 51" and dropped her mic, then jumped off stage catching a football.

Background

Around August 2016, media started reporting that singer Adele was in discussion with the National Football League (NFL) to perform at the Super Bowl LI halftime show, to be held on February 5, 2017, at Houston's NRG Stadium; the show would be sponsored by Pepsi Zero Sugar. A representative from the NFL said that "organisers are doing absolutely everything they can to try to persuade her to sign up". However, the singer said during her Adele Live 2016 concert tour at Los Angeles that although she had been offered to perform by the NFL, she had declined the offer. The singer added: "First of all, I'm not doing the Super Bowl... I mean, come on, that show is not about music. And I don't really... I can't dance or anything like that. They were very kind, they did ask me, but I did say no. I'm sorry. Maybe next time, for my next album, because I'm going to do a dance album next time. So maybe I'll do it then." The NFL then denied extending a formal offer to Adele putting out an official statement:

The NFL and Pepsi are big fans of Adele. We have had conversations with several artists about the Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show. However, we have not at this point extended a formal offer to Adele or anyone else. We are focused on putting together a fantastic show for Houston and we look forward to revealing that in good time.

Following these reports, media started speculating about potential candidates for the show, including Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Eminem. In the meantime, singer Lady Gaga announced that she would be releasing her fifth studio album, Joanne, in October 2016. Billboard reported that the NFL was "in talks" with the singer, based on her performance of the national anthem at the previous Super Bowl. The NFL denied the news confirming that they were still discussing with multiple artists and have not decided. On September 29, 2016, Gaga finally confirmed that she would be performing at the halftime show on her Instagram account with the message: "It's not an illusion. The rumors are true. This year the SUPER BOWL goes GAGA!" Fox Sports president and executive producer of the show, John Entz, confirmed Gaga's involvement adding "[She] is one of the most electric performers of our generation, and we couldn't be happier with the choice to have her headline the Super Bowl LI Halftime Show... It is going to be an incredible night."

According to Emma Quigley, Pepsi's North American head of music, and Justin Toman, Pepsi sports marketing director, choosing Gaga to headline the show made sense based on her previous output and musical endeavors. They considered various parameters, like social media followers, record sales, trending topic and shortlisted her. Toman also took into account the total time it usually takes for the show—seven minutes for set up, 12 minutes for the main show, and another seven minutes to dismantle—and believed the singer could deliver "power, punch, performance, singing, lights" within that time frame. Pepsi sponsored the halftime show for the fifth-consecutive year.

Conception

In October 2016, Gaga told Entertainment Weekly she wanted to give "the best show for the football fans, the ones that are watching at home". Although not decided about the set list, the singer wanted to play a mix of her old and new songs. She also confirmed that the NFL had heard Joanne before its release, and decided to offer the halftime performance slot. Inspiration came from previous halftime show performances by Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, and Bruce Springsteen, with Gaga remarking that she loved "all the [past shows]". In December 2016, Gaga launched the "Guest of Honor" contest along with Pepsi and the NFL, which would enable her fans to win the opportunity to see the halftime show from the sidelines of the stage. The singer uploaded a video with the title "Fanifesto", talking about the power of fandom, and explained that one has to upload a 15- to 60-second-long video on Instagram or Twitter with the hashtags #GOHContest and #PepsiHalftime by December 15, professing their fandom for Gaga. She also participated in an advertisement for Tiffany & Co., shot entirely in black and white with Gaga promoting their new line of jewelry.

Billboard revealed that Gaga would not be accompanied by any guest musicians for the show, thus deviating from the performances showcased the past few years. Pepsi confirmed in a press release that a ten-second countdown would precede Gaga's performance, where a lead-in featuring jazz singer Tony Bennett would be shown, produced by Creator's Studio. The New York Post reported that Gaga was planning to sing atop the dome of NRG Stadium, which Gaga later confirmed to be true saying that it was based on an idea given by her sister Natali Germanotta. Her team were worried about this development and were discussing the safety hazards associated with the act, although Gaga continued to pursue it. The organizers considered airlifting the singer on top of the dome before the performance, or making her appear through the "see-through" roof of the stadium, which is retractable. Gaga's lawyers were also working out the logistics and the insurance associated with the stunt, thinking that it would be better to have the segment as a commercial airing before the halftime show. Prior to the show, some expected Gaga to do "something overtly political" during her performance. A report about the NFL forbidding the singer to mention President Donald Trump during the show was refuted. A representative from the organization issued a statement saying, "The Super Bowl is a time when people really come together. Lady Gaga is focused on putting together an amazing show for fans and we love working with her on it; we aren't going to be distracted by this."

Rehearsals

By January 2017, Gaga started posting images on her social media accounts, showing her practicing for the show, including building a tent in her backyard so that she could rehearse with her dancers. The group rehearsed in the tent for about a week and a half, then had to move to larger venues in Hollywood for working on the rest of the show. Finally, all the equipment was sent to Houston, where the last rehearsals took place. Gaga enlisted vocal coach Don Lawrence for helping her belt out the correct musical notes. Lawrence had worked with Gaga for her National Anthem performance previous year, as well as for her concert tours. For the halftime show, he worked with Gaga for six days until the main event saying that "one-on-one interaction with eye contact helps".

A behind-the-scenes video from the rehearsals was uploaded by Pepsi, where Gaga explained that the main challenge was how to make the halftime performance different than the preceding years, but keep it still about the music. Choreographer Richy Jackson was shown in the middle of a session with the dancers, enacting the characteristic moves from the song, "Bad Romance" (2009). Jackson said that the dancers were hand-picked and were among the personnel that worked, or had previously worked, for the singer. He further added that the show would unveil a different aspect of Gaga, since she had never got the chance to perform on a big platform like the Super Bowl. As the main event came nearer, the singer kept of posting short videos from rehearsal as well as sneak-peek behind-the-scenes look into the show on her Instagram story feed. She showed her pre-game dance routines and choreography, FaceTimeing with her grandmother, warming up for the show, and the on-stage activities going on. Toman explained that they wanted to have the general fans get "a peek into the journey to halftime, tapping into the artist fanbase—that really works. Doing a behind-the-scenes content program, giving people that glimpse of what it takes to prepare. People love that. So that really worked and we continue to do that."

Fashion

With the release of Joanne, Gaga had gone for an unconventional look, deviating from her fashionable attires portrayed in media. Prior to the halftime show, there was much speculation regarding her fashion for the performance. The singer combined both the aesthetic of her current style as well as a nod to her past attires. She wore a custom created Atelier Versace iridescent colored jumpsuit, which was beaded all over with Swarovski crystals, along with high shoulder pads and matching knee length boots. The outfit was promoted by designer Donatella Versace on Instagram before the show began. The body suit was required for swift movement over the stage, aiding in mobility for the singer. According to fashion pundit Cameron Silver, Gaga's final look for the performance of "Bad Romance" was the "most interesting". It consisted of silver hot pants with sequins on it, with a footballer shoulder pad like jacket. Silver called the dress as "Gaga-fied" saying that he "appreciate that [the singer] expresses herself so profoundly in clothes". Both the dresses were deemed as a "customary nod" to Gaga's past by Billboard, who added that "It was a solid balance of glam and sexy without overdoing it [...] [The dress] gave fantasy to her fans. She looked great. She sounded great. It’s like she was playing football in heels." In between Gaga also wore a golden jacket with shoulder spikes while playing the keytar.

Versace had created all the looks for the show, including the final look which was inspired by the label's Spring 2017 collection. Gaga's look were styled by her longtime collaborator Brandon Maxwell, while her makeup evoked singer David Bowie's persona Ziggy Stardust. Donatella Versace herself flew to Houston to help with the costumes, including dressing the singer herself before the show. Gaga's makeup was done by artist Sarah Nicole Tanno and her hair was coiffured by Frederic Aspiras. After aligning on the look the singer wanted for the show, Aspiras did her hair touch-ups and coloring, while Tanno used products from Marc Jacobs' cosmetics line to give a "timeless" look for Gaga. The singer also wore a pair of eye masks made of crystals, extending till her temples. According to Vanessa Friedman from The New York Times, choosing Versace as her fashion brand for the costumes "helped to support a subtler, arguably more powerful, message" by Gaga. She had promised to make the show about "inclusion" and to that extent, using Versace and a number of other designers like Dr. Martens and Vera Wang made it a point.

Multimedia

The production work on the show was done by designers Bruce Rodgers of Tribe Inc. and LeRoy Bennett, and lighting designer Bob Barnhart of 22 Degrees. The stage was created by All Access Staging & Productions, who had also created previous Super Bowl halftime stages. Key features of the stage consisted of two towers, a main platform, three star-shaped side stages, a piano dome and a stage lift. The towers were around 30 feet (9.1 m) tall and could be assembled on the carts to be carried onto the field for set-up. All Access had only 4.5 weeks to assemble the whole piece with the main stage itself, and required 17 trucks for storage and transport. The show utilized LED systems from Verrents and sound by ATK Audio tek. Around 5,000 LED lights were embedded in the stage, a record amount usage. Special effects group Strictly FX was behind all the pyrotechnics used in the show.

Both Rodgers and Bennett had decided earlier that they wanted to have a "meaningful" concept behind the performance. They combined the individual ideas developed, taking inputs from Barnhart and special effects designer Mark Grega from FX. Rodgers called the whole arrangement as "the most intense technological and visually impactful epic possible, with an eye to giving our staging team a chance to get it on and off the field in time for the game." The show featured a field cast led by KP Terry; they used Glow Motion LED Batons, creating a three-dimensional moving pixels show. A Nashville based company, Glow Motion programmed each of the individual batons to sync with the music being played. "All our field cast and staging experts, technicians and vendors have stepped up to support the vision, and Gaga herself, having embraced the concept early on, has taken on the task with more interest and heart than any other artist that I’ve worked with in the last 11 years," Rodgers concluded.

Lighting was supplied by Production Resource Group (PRG). Chris Conti from the company shared Barnhart's floor planning for the lighting system, which utilized DMX512 for controlling the whole system. Barnhart recalled that "[the] show was a little more complicated this year, due to the amount of scenery that we normally don't have on a halftime show", but it was better since there were no video backdrops. All around the roof of NRG Stadium, an array of 36 Clay Paky sharpy fixtures were added, which swept the night sky in Houston with the light beams. Along with the Sharpys, Barnhart had to arrange a backlight array fixture, using Philips Vari-Lite VL4000 and PRG Best Boy. With Gaga and her dancers performing, he had to device a way to light up the different areas. LED tape was used around the stage, controlled by the lighting team. This removed the need to light the set pieces from afar. Director Hamish Hamilton and his crew devised their own way of capturing and transmitting it for the live audience.

Drones

For performing on top of NRG Stadium, Gaga was accompanied by a fleet of 300 synchronized, LED-equipped "Shooting Star" quadcopter drones provided by Intel, which formed an image of an American flag behind the singer. It marked the first time that the drones had been used as part of a television broadcast. According to Intel's senior vice president Josh Walden, "Gaga and the Super Bowl creative team wanted to pull off something that had never been done before... The potential for these light show drones is endless". Barnhart explained that he had wanted to use drones in the Super Bowl for many years, but never had the correct technology to do it until Intel came along. With the permission from producer Ricky Kirshner, he reached out to Intel representatives. Barnhart told them that he wanted to use Intel's drone technology for a "large TV show in February. I can't give you money, but I can give you exposure". Hearing that the Super Bowl will expose the technology to over 110 million television sets across the country, Intel signed up.

Since the drones did not fly indoors, Barnhar wrote a new creative segment for the opening with Gaga singing atop the roof of the stadium with the drones flying behind her. The segment, as well as sponsor tags forming the logos of Pepsi and Intel, were filmed earlier in the week due to safety concerns regarding performing the formation over the live audience, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) having forbidden drones from being used within a 34.5 miles (55.5 km) radius of NRG Stadium (which is also located near William P. Hobby Airport). The production staff obtained special permission from the FAA in order to perform the formations.

The drones used for the show had a plastic and foam body for soft impacts, and were about 1 foot (0.30 m) square and weighed 8 ounces (0.50 lb). They were directly connected to a central computer through wireless and executed their individual choreography, each being oblivious to what the other drones' position was. The computer checked the GPS signal strength and battery level of the drones, while assigning their roles accordingly. Intel had started preparing from early December 2016, working out the logistics. After coming to a consensus with the creative team, they started storyboarding the drones, finally accepting to display a star array and the US flag, along with the Pepsi logo.

Critical reception

Gaga's performance at the halftime show received acclaim. Time described Gaga's performance as "among the very best in the history of the form, racing ambitiously through the artist's entire career and putting forward the qualities of the artist that just work". The New Yorker described her performance as "an astute, intense, and disciplined performance". Andrew Unterberger from Billboard felt that the performance would go down as "one of the best halftime sets of the century" and that it had cemented Gaga as a "legacy artist [...] There were aerials, there were keytars, there were a whole lot of angular gesticulations and dance routines with slightly alien choreography. It was Gaga through and through, and every song felt more gratifying than the last; storming hi-NRG anthems of NRG Stadium size, reminding you why Gaga's pop supremacy was so inarguable not all that long ago." Unterberger nevertheless noted that there was not anything "outrageous" in the show. Similarly, Chris Chase of Fox Sports said that it would "go down with Michael, Prince, Beyoncé, and Bruce as the greatest halftime show ever." Writing for Variety, Sonia Saraiya felt the show was "breathtaking" and "soared", but felt it "lacked an iconic moment or emotional button". Daniel Fienberg from The Hollywood Reporter was disappointed that the show never had a "close-up or any sort of swooping medium-shot to accentuate her movement", and felt that "the weakly presented dive" detracted from Gaga's rendition of "God Bless America" and "This Land Is Your Land". Fienberg also called the performance "apolitical."

Nico Land from Salon noted that Gaga became the first artist to refer to the LGBT community during a the Super Bowl halftime show when she sang "Born This Way". Land considered this a "crucial milestone" for the community. He said that "Putting LGBT issues on the main stage at the Super Bowl served as a powerful message of queer solidarity in the face on an unprecedented wave of challenges from our government." Although Gaga did not openly criticize Trump, Land viewed the singer's opening performance was a subtle "dig" at the President. Singing "This Land Is Your Land", a protest anthem for the Women's Marches across the country following Trump's inauguration, Gaga referred to Trump's policies on immigration. According to Joanna Robinson from Vanity Fair, the performance was a "dog whistle" against Trump's plans to construct a wall between United States and Mexico. Marguerite Ward from CNBC considered the show to be Gaga's comeback, noting how she had announced in 2015 that she would retire. "Fast forward to 2017. [Lady Gaga] is back on the global stage, gearing up for a new world tour," she added.

Commercial reception

The Super Bowl LI halftime show was seen by 117.5 million television viewers in the United States, making it the second-most-watched Super Bowl halftime show behind Katy Perry's in 2015. For the fourth year in a row, the viewership was higher than the game itself, which was viewed by an audience of 111.3 million. A total of 5.1 million tweets were made regarding Gaga's performance, including 2.2 million during the actual show, which made her the most tweeted about entertainer in the show's history. According to the statistics posted by Billboard, the most tweeted moment was captured when the show ended, followed by when Gaga waved at her parents from the stage and finally when the singer descended from the NRG Stadium roof in a harness. The set list was also included in the most tweets tabulation with "Bad Romance" getting the highest number of tweets. "Telephone" was the second-most-tweeted song followed by "Born This Way". On February 17, 2017, the NFL claimed that Gaga's halftime show was the "most-watched musical event of all-time", citing a figure of 150 million viewers based on the television audience, as well as unique viewership of video postings of the show on the league's platforms (including NFL.com, and its Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages, the last of which having received 28 million views), and social media interactions.

According to Nielsen SoundScan, on the day of the show, Gaga sold 150,000 digital albums and songs in the United States, up by 1,000% from the previous day, when she sold around 15,000 digital albums and songs. The singer sold a total of 125,000 digital song downloads, with "Million Reasons" (45,000 up by 900%) being the most preferred one, followed by "Bad Romance" (13,000), "Born This Way" (12,000) and "Poker Face" (10,000). Her albums sold more than 23,000 downloads with Joanne being best selling one with over 12,000 sales, followed by The Fame Monster (2009), which sold about 6,000. Gaga also benefited by acquiring over 24,000 listeners on music streaming website Pandora Radio. Total station adds for the singer went up by 1,391% week-by-week with a cumulative 14.8 million stations and her songs receiving 2.5 billion spins. All the songs performed received significant spin boosts. This was a difference from the previous halftime show, when Coldplay was up 225%, Bruno Mars by 62% and Beyoncé up 60%.

Billboard finally reported that she sold over 410,000 digital song downloads in total for the tracking week of February 9, 2017, an increase of 1,850%. "Million Reasons" was the most benefitted song, re-entering the Billboard Hot 100 at number four becoming Gaga's 14th top-ten single. It also reached the top of the Digital Songs chart with 149,000 downloads. Other songs entering the chart included "Born This Way" (41,000, number seven), "Bad Romance" (39,000, number nine) "Poker Face" (34,000, number fourteen), "Just Dance" (25,000, number 26) and "Telephone" (20,000, number 39). Gaga's streaming activity also increased by 196% to 41.8 million streams, led by "Million Reasons" with 3.9 million plays. Her album sales increased by 844% to 135,000 equivalent units, with Joanne soaring from number 66–2 on the Billboard 200 with 74,000 total units sold (48,000 being traditional album purchases). Other entries in the chart included The Fame (38,000, number six), Born This Way (17,000, number 25) and Artpop (5,000, number 174). Her commercial gains resulted in Gaga reaching number one on the Billboard Artist 100 chart, which measures activity across various social media websites as well as record sales.

Like the United States, the Super Bowl performance also had an impact in Canada, where Joanne vaulted from number 54 to number 2, with a 524% gain in album-equivalent units. In the United Kingdom, Joanne's sales were up by 222%, while The Fame (2008) was up by 1,605%, since the show. In the final chart, the former moved from number 88 to number 11, with sales increasing to 5,289 copies, while the latter entered at number 38, selling 2,263 copies.

Set list

The following songs were performed during the halftime show:

1. "God Bless America" / "This Land Is Your Land" (pre-recorded intro)
2. "Poker Face"
3. "Born This Way"
4. "Telephone"
5. "Just Dance"
6. "Million Reasons"
7. "Bad Romance"

Set list adapted from Billboard.

Personnel

Credits and personnel adapted from the listing available at Live Design website.