The Super Bowl LI Halftime show took place on February 5, 2017, at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas as part of Super Bowl LI. The show was headlined by Lady Gaga, who performed a medley of her songs, including newer material from her most recent studio album Joanne.
Gaga's performance was critically acclaimed, with media outlets praising the show for demonstrating her artistic and musical qualities, and some arguing that it ranked among the top Super Bowl halftime performances in history. The show was also noted for its acknowledgment of the LGBT community, the use of a swarm of lighting-equipped drones for a pre-recorded intro scene, and its perceived political undertones. With 117.5 million television viewers, the Super Bowl LI halftime show was the second most-watched Super Bowl halftime show behind Katy Perry's and had higher average viewership than the game itself.
Video Super Bowl LI halftime show
Synopsis
The halftime show started on the roof of NRG Stadium. Gaga started singing "God Bless America" as drones swarm behind her emitting red, blue and white color. She then sang Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land", followed by the ending of the Pledge of Allegiance: "One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all". Gaga then dove 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 emitted behind her. After the first verse and chorus, Gaga, who was attached to a harness, bounced from the pillar to the main stage, and was joined by her dancers to sing "Born This Way", including the track's intermediate spoken verse.
As the performance ended, Gaga headed towards one corner of the stage inside a star shaped structure, and sang "Telephone". She was carried by a dancer to the main stage where she held a keytar and sang "Just Dance". The singer proceeded to the grounds from the stage as the song completed. She reached a podium with a piano, and started singing "Million Reasons". The audience present on the field 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 fireworks erupted heralding the end of the show, Gaga reached the edge of the stage, shouted "Super Bowl 51", dropped her microphone, and jumped off stage catching a football.
Maps Super Bowl LI halftime show
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 was 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". During her Adele Live 2016 concert tour at Los Angeles, Adele clarified that although she had been offered to perform by the NFL, she had declined since she did not believe herself to be suitable for the halftime show. The NFL also explained that they had not signed any musician till then and were still in discussion with several artists.
In the meantime, singer Lady Gaga had announced that she would be releasing her fifth studio album, Joanne, in October 2016. Billboard reported that the NFL was discussing with the singer, based on her performance of the national anthem at the previous Super Bowl. On September 29, 2016, Gaga finally confirmed on her Instagram account that she would be performing at the halftime show. 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--social media followers, record sales, trending topic--and then 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.
Development
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 indecisive about the set list, the singer wanted to play a mixture of her past and recent 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 an opportunity to see the halftime show from the sidelines of the stage. The singer uploaded a video titled "Fanifesto", talking about the power of fandom, and explained that one has to upload a 15-60 second video on Instagram or Twitter with the hashtags #GOHContest and #PepsiHalftime by December 15, professing their fandom for Gaga.
Colin Stutz from Billboard revealed that Gaga would not be accompanied by any guest musicians for the show, which was a deviation from the shows of 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. Gaga confirmed planning to sing atop the dome of NRG Stadium, the idea given to her by her sister Natali Germanotta. Her team were worried about the safety hazards associated with the stunt, 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 worked on the logistics and the insurance associated with the stunt. The US media had expected Gaga to do "something overtly political" during her performance. NFL refuted news about them forbidding the singer to mention President Donald Trump during the show. 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. She built a tent in her backyard where she could rehearse with her dancers. The group rehearsed in it for about 1.5 week, then moved 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.
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 had worked with 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 day for the show approached, the singer kept posting short videos from rehearsal as well as behind-the-scenes. She showed her pre-game dance routines and choreography, FaceTimeing with her grandmother, warming up for the show, and the onstage activities. 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
After the release of Joanne Gaga had worn simplistic fashion, deviating from her previous outrageous attires. Prior to the halftime show, there was much speculation regarding her fashion for the performance. Versace had created all the looks for the show, including the final look which was inspired by the label's Spring 2017 collection. The singer wore a custom created, Atelier Versace, iridescent colored jumpsuit, which was beaded over with Swarovski crystals, along with high shoulder pads and matching knee length boots. The body suit facilitated swift movement onstage, aiding the mobility for the singer. According to fashion expert 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. 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 the performance, Gaga also wore a golden jacket which had shoulder spikes, while playing the keytar.
Gaga's looks were styled by her longtime collaborator Brandon Maxwell, while her makeup was influenced by 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. Tanno used products from Marc Jacobs' cosmetics line to give a "timeless" look for Gaga. The singer 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 a main platform, two towers, 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 carried by carts to the field for set-up. All Access had only 4.5 weeks to create the whole piece with the main stage itself, and required 17 trucks for storage and transport. The show utilized LED system from Verrents and sound by ATK Audio tek. Around 5,000 LED lights were embedded in the stage, which was a record number. Special effects group Strictly FX was behind all the pyrotechnics.
Both Rodgers and Bennett combined the individual ideas for the show, and took inputs from Barnhart and special effects designer Mark Grega from FX. Rodgers called the stage setup as "the most intense technological and visually impactful epic possible". The show featured a field cast led by KP Terry; they used Glow Motion LED batons, creating a 3D 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 [had] stepped up to support the vision, and Gaga herself, having embraced the concept early on, [had] 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 for the show was supplied by Production Resource Group (PRG). Chris Conti from the company shared Barnhart's floor planning for the lighting setup, 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 lit the Houston night skyline with light beams. Barnhart also arranged a backlight array fixture, using Philips Vari-Lite VL4000 and PRG Best Boy. LED tape was used around the main production area. They were controlled by the lighting team and could light the stage from afar. Director Hamish Hamilton and his crew devised their own way of capturing and transmitting the show 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 the 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 encountered the correct technology until Intel's drones. With the permission from producer Ricky Kirshner, he reached out to Intel representatives and told them that he wanted to use their 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 agreed.
Since the drones did not fly indoors, Barnhart 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 was filmed earlier in the week due to safety concerns regarding performing the formation over the live audience. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had 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 drone acrobatics.
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 connected to a central computer through wireless and executed 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, the American flag and the Pepsi logo.
Critical response
Gaga's performance at the halftime show was critically acclaimed. A writer for Time described the show 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 review described Gaga and the show 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... It was Gaga through and through, and every song felt more gratifying than the last... [R]eminding you why Gaga's pop supremacy was so inarguable not all that long ago." Unterberger noted that there was nothing "outrageous" in the show.
Chris Chase of Fox Sports said that the halftime show would "go down with Michael, Prince, Beyoncé, and Bruce as the greatest ever." 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. Writing for Variety, Sonia Saraiya described the show as "breathtaking" and "soar[ing]", 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 [Gaga's] movement", and felt that "the weakly presented dive" detracted from Gaga's rendition of "God Bless America" and "This Land Is Your Land".
Nico Land from Salon noted that Gaga became the first artist to refer to the LGBT community during a 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.
At the 69th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, the halftime show was nominated in 6 categories: Outstanding Special Class Program, Outstanding Production Design for Variety, Nonfiction, Event or Award Special, Outstanding Lighting Design / Lighting Direction for a Variety Special, Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control for a Limited Series, Movie, or Special, Outstanding Music Direction, and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or Special and won for Outstanding Lighting Design. It was also the most nominations received by a halftime show at the Emmy Awards.
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 halftime show behind Katy Perry's (2015). For the fourth year in a row, the viewership was higher than the game 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 statistics presented 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".
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. The singer sold a total of 125,000 digital song downloads, led by "Million Reasons" (45,000 up by 900%), then "Bad Romance" (13,000), "Born This Way" (12,000) and "Poker Face" (10,000). Her albums sold more than 23,000 downloads with Joanne selling over 12,000 copies, followed by The Fame Monster (2009), which sold about 6,000. Gaga acquired 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 received 2.5 billion spins. All the songs performed received significant spin boosts. This was a difference from the previous halftime shows, when Coldplay was up by 225%, Bruno Mars by 62%, and Beyoncé up 60%.
After the final tabulation, Gaga sold over 410,000 digital song downloads in total for the tracking week of February 9, 2017, an increase of 1,850%. "Million Reasons" re-entered 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 Digital Songs chart were "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 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, selling 74,000 units (48,000 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). Gaga reached number one on the Billboard Artist 100 chart, which measures activity across various social media websites as well as record sales.
The Super Bowl performance also had an impact in Canada, where Joanne vaulted from number 54-2, 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. On the UK Albums Chart, the former moved from number 88-11, 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:
- "God Bless America" / "This Land Is Your Land" (pre-recorded intro)
- "Poker Face"
- "Born This Way"
- "Telephone"
- "Just Dance"
- "Million Reasons"
- "Bad Romance"
Set list adapted from Billboard.
Personnel
Credits and personnel adapted from the listing available at Live Design website.
See also
- 2017 in American music
- 2017 in American television
References
External links
- Don't Worry About What 'Joanne' Songs Lady Gaga Is Gonna Perform at the Super Bowl Billboard
- Super Bowl LI Halftime Show 2017 Staging Technical Drawings Live Design
- Super Bowl LI Halftime Show Set Drawings Live Design
- Will Lady Gaga's Drones Win a Lion? Intel Explains How It Pulled Off Its Fantastical Super Bowl Stunt Adweek
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments