Lady Gaga's Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday was more patriotic and less political than most expected. Many on social media thanked her for keeping it that way.
Before being dropped into NRG stadium on two wires, she briefly sang "Gold Bless America" and "This Land Is Your Land," and then recited the end of the Pledge of Allegiance, "One Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
She sang past hits songs "Pokerface" as she was lowered onto the field and transitioned into her hit "Born This Way," as she landed on stage, as Variety described it.
"It was speculated that the musician might get political," said Variety writer Alex Stedman. "Gaga was an avid Hillary Clinton supporter ahead of the general election, and has been vocal in her criticism of President Donald Trump. However, the performance had mostly a theme of unity and peace, without any bold political statements."
Ed Masley, of the Arizona Republic, though, suggested that Lady Gaga was sending a subtle message about inclusion by choosing the recite the closing of the Pledge of Allegiance.
"Judging by the look on Gaga's face as she playfully emphasized the last two words of "...with liberty and justice for all" before she flew down to the stage like Peter Pan on Broadway, I am pretty sure we had our answer."
One of the songs Lady Gaga performed was "Telephone," a hit duet she had with Beyonce, noted Variety, who created controversy at last year's Super Bowl with a performance some charged was anti-police. Beyonce, who recently announced she was pregnant with twins, did not perform.
Choloe Melas of CNN pointed out that Lady Gaga included a verse to "Born This Way" that was a nod to the LGBT community.
"Gaga mainly sang the choruses from her hit songs but when it came to her 2011 hit, 'Born This Way,' she again offered another clear message of acceptance by choosing to sing lyrics from a verse towards the end of the song: 'No matter gay, straight, or bi, Lesbian, transgendered life/I'm on the right track baby/I was born to survive.'"
Lady Gaga's opening won praise from many corners.
Variety's Sonia Saraiya panned Lady Gaga's performance for not taking more risks.
"Gaga has always been a highly stylized performer, but more than ever, Gaga's aesthetic in her Super Bowl performance felt like a parody of contemporary pop, not a force that pushed it forward," said Saraiya. "Worst of all, she appears to have willingly sanded down the politically charged subtext of her own art into a commodified piece of Americana that could be experienced without being truly understood."
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