Lady Gaga’s Coachella show proves she’s still a prime performer

CEBU, Philippines — When Lady Gaga first performed at Coachella in 2017, she had only a few weeks to prepare for her headlining show. She was a last-minute replacement for Beyoncé, who had to postpone due to pregnancy, delaying her set to the following year.

Still fresh from her critically acclaimed Super Bowl performance at the time, Gaga managed to pull off a spectacular show.

But give her months to prepare for a second headlining appearance — eight years later in 2025 — and she delivers the quintessential Gaga show that everyone deserves, both at Coachella and for those watching from home via YouTube during the two weekend performances on April 11 and 18 (U.S. time).

Her Coachella show (called “Gagachella”) comes on the heels of her seventh solo studio album, “Mayhem” — a record critics and fans alike hail as a true return to her early pop roots from her debut, “The Fame,” with a touch of its follow-up, “The Fame Monster.”

Lyrically, the 14-track album is introspective. Aside from exploring her past and present lexperiences — including her engagement to fiancé Michael Polansky — much of the album’s ethos is about the star finding balance in her artistry as both Lady Gaga and Stefani Germanotta, her real name.

“I used to always feel like I was playing two different people, and I would crash when I was doing either,” she explained in a Rolling Stone interview.

“Now, I really feel like myself. I used to write music on napkins in the middle of the day when I was 19 or 20 years old, which I know is too young to be in a bar, but I was. I used to go back and visit, and I would feel sad and almost far away from my community and what I had built there. And it would almost just feel like lifetimes ago. When I went [there recently], it was the most intact that I had felt in a long time, and that was really nice. It was nice to be there. When I feel creatively fulfilled, that’s when I feel most myself.”

It’s no surprise that Gaga felt torn between two selves in her music. She released three jazz albums (two with the late Tony Bennett and one solo as a companion album to “Joker: Folie à Deux”, in which she co-starred), as well as power ballads for films such as “Shallow” for A Star is Born and “Hold My Hand” for Top Gun: Maverick — projects that diverged from what people normally expect from Gaga.

With her latest album, Gaga declared, “I am both Lady Gaga and Stefani at the same time.”

There are some expected future Gaga classics like “Disease” and “Abracadabra,” but the album also explores new sonic territory, inspired by her idols: Prince and Michael Jackson in “Killah” and “Shadow of a Man,” respectively. Tracks like “Garden of Eden” and “Zombieboy” fuse both Gaga’s artistic side and Stefani’s love for pop music.

The cherry on top is the album’s dark, theatrical imagery, which contrasts with many of its personal lyrics, highlighting the “chaos” Gaga wanted to portray by bringing her two identities together.

Many of these themes were translated well into her Gagachella performance, giving Little Monsters (her fans) a deeper understanding of what she’s doing with this new era, having been in the game for nearly two decades.

Divided into four acts and an encore, her two-weekend show follows a story of two versions of Gaga battling for control, teetering on the edge of a breakdown.

This concept plays out clearly in her “Poker Face” performance in the first act, where current Gaga faces off with her past self in a game of chess. Present-day Gaga wins — only for the past Gaga to return in the next act, setting up an endless internal struggle.

Over the two-hour show, Gaga brings her signature theatrics while showcasing new layers of her artistry that keep longtime fans engaged and might even win over new ones.

Her powerhouse vocals and high-energy dancing continue to impress, especially considering her ongoing battle with fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition. Gaga previously said she has found ways to manage her symptoms.

Adding to her performance is her professionalism. A perfect example was during the second weekend, when her headset mic malfunctioned as she opened with “Bloody Mary” and “Abracadabra.” She seamlessly switched to a handheld mic mid-performance, then returned to a working headset, continuing without a hitch.

“I am sorry my mic was broken for a second. At least you know I sing live,” she told the audience. “I guess all we can do is our best, and I’m certainly giving you my best tonight.”

While the show has a gothic opera theme, it’s not all darkness. There are moments of joy and camp that feel natural and in character.

In “Zombieboy,” Gaga and her dancers waltz with skeleton partners, delighting even hardcore fans, who’ll no doubt see the scene replicated soon by Filipino drag queens.

Unlike many Coachella headliners, Gaga didn’t rely on guest stars. She sang “Die with a Smile” solo without Bruno Mars, who is her duet partner on the studio version. She did bring out French DJ-producer Gesaffelstein to play his part for “Killah” alongside her touring band.

With half of the setlist pulled from the new album, some of her older hits were inevitably cut, most notably “Just Dance,” which she didn’t perform in a concert for the first time in her career.

She made up for it by closing with “Bad Romance,” to the crowd’s delight. Wrapping up the show’s narrative, Gaga reconciled both sides of herself. “Monsters never die,” she said before diving into the finale.

But the real star of the show was Gaga’s aura. Fans noticed how happy she seemed performing during both weekends than ever before — a sign she’s in a better place than in previous tours.

Is it because of her supportive fiancé, who encouraged her to create music and even converted his home office into a recording studio for her? Or is it the alignment with her new creative director and choreographer, Parris Goebel, who’s completely in sync with Gaga’s vision? Maybe it’s both. Whatever the reason, Gaga’s joy was palpable. And that made her show even more enjoyable for fans who have seen her ups and downs.

With all these elements, Gaga proves to both her Little Monsters and the wider world that, 17 years in, Mother Monster remains at the top of her game, and she still has plenty to showcase as a pop star and storyteller.

After Coachella, she’ll head to Mexico City and Brazil — performances rumored to be either extended versions of her Gagachella set or entirely new shows. Next month, she’ll perform in Singapore before launching her arena tour, “The Mayhem Ball,” later this year.
Gaga last performed in the Philippines in 2012 for the “Born This Way Ball,” where she became the first artist to headline at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. If she adds the country as one of the stops in her upcoming tour, a ticket to see her live on our shores will be worth every peso, with her Coachella performance more than enough proof that she’s an entertainer not to be missed. — (FREEMAN)