After listening to Lady Gaga talk about Sunday’s Super Bowl halftime show, it’s safe to say it’ll be a spectacle.
Gaga didn’t give too much away while meeting with the media in Houston on Thursday, and she declined to confirm earlier reports that she’ll be performing while suspended from the roof of NRG Stadium.
“We’ll be doing some very interesting and exciting things,” said Gaga, whose parents were sitting in the front row. “I want to keep as much of the show a surprise as possible, but I will say it’s a tremendously athletic show.”
The singer, the latest in a long line of star performers at the Super Bowl — joining the likes of U2, Paul McCartney, Prince, the Rolling Stones, Madonna, The Who, and Bruno Mars — seems intent on making it a memorable night, with or without a wardrobe malfunction. She said watching Michael Jackson perform at halftime of the Super Bowl XXIV is one of her “greatest memories.”
That may be, but Katy Perry, who performed with life-size shark puppets at the 2015 Super Bowl, when the Patriots played the Seahawks in Scottsdale, holds the record for the most-watched halftime show, with 118.5 million viewers.
Advertisement
There’s been speculation that Gaga might take this opportunity to make a political statement. Asked about that Thursday, she said this: “The only statements I’ll be making during the halftime shows are the ones I’ve been consistently making throughout my career. I believe in inclusion, I believe in the spirit of equality and the spirit of this country, one of love and compassion and kindness.”
As excited as she is to join the pantheon of performers who’ve played at the Super Bowl, Lady Gaga said this gig is really for her fans, those millions of Little Monsters.
“One of the things I’m most excited about this halftime show, I really like it wasn’t given to me, it was given to (the fans),” she said. “So, essentially, that kid who couldn’t get a seat at the cool kids table, that kid who was kicked out of the house because his mom and dad didn’t accept him for who he was, that kid’s going to have the stage for 13 minutes and I’m excited to give it to them.”
Advertisement
Finally, if you’re wondering who Gaga’s going to be rooting for Sunday, so were we. Alas, she won’t say.