There were a million reasons to love Lady Gaga’s halftime show at the Super Bowl on Sunday night.
With no lip-synching or overt political statements, Gaga took viewers around the world on a high-energy and spectacular run through some of her biggest hits.
"Lady Gaga covered more ground on the field than the Patriots," actor Bryan Cranston tweeted.
The pop superstar started her performance singing a short mashup of “God Bless America” and "This Land Is Your Land" and speaking lines from the Pledge of Allegiance atop the roof of the NRG Stadium in Houston, backed by hundreds of Intel Shooting Star drones.
After leaping to a tower on the stage below, Gaga spoke a couple of lines from "Paparazzi" and "Edge of Glory" before launching into “Poker Face.”
“Born This Way,” Gaga’s 2011 pop anthem about self-acceptance, followed.
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Gaga then gave a powerful performance of 2010’s “Telephone” before picking up a "keytar" to do her 2008 hit “Just Dance.”
“America? World? How you doing tonight?,” Gaga asked as she sat down at a piano. “We’re here to make you feel good.”
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The 30-year-old pop singer slowed things down with her 2016 ballad “Million Reasons,” surrounded by a stadium of glowing lights.
After a quick change into a football-themed costume, Gaga kicked off 2009’s “Bad Romance.”
At the end, Gaga screamed “Super Bowl 51," tossed the mic to the ground, caught a bedazzled "Gaga" football, and disappeared from the stage.
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Of course, the set included plenty of special effects, lighting effects and pyrotechnics.
Gaga’s performance was directed by Hamish Hamilton, the Brit who directed halftime shows by Beyonce and Katy Perry, and was choreographed by Gaga’s longtime collaborator Richard “Richy” Jackson.
Gaga, who called the gig “the biggest performance of my life” in a tweet on Saturday, was cheered on by her parents Joseph and Cynthia and her sister Natali. Among those in the stadium watching Gaga live were singers John Legend and Elton John.
Click here to watch the full performance!
Gaga is now in the company of female artists like Beyonce, Madonna, Katy Perry and Diana Ross who have headlined Super Bowl halftime shows.
But, she was the first halftime act to perform without special guests since The Who in 2010 and only the eighth artist ever to go it alone.
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The Super Bowl halftime show only started using pop and rock music acts in 1991, when the New Kids on the Block performed. Artists like the late Michael Jackson and Prince — as well as bands like Rolling Stones and Coldplay followed.
Only two Canadian performers have done the halftime show — Dan Aykroyd in 1997 (as part of the Blues Brothers) and Shania Twain in 2003.
In January, Gaga started rehearsing for the 13-minute spectacle in a tent erected in her backyard before moving to bigger spaces around Los Angeles. Final rehearsals took place in Houston in the days leading up to the show.
Gaga also worked for a week with vocal coach Don Lawrence, who helped her get her pipes ready to sing the national anthem at last year’s Super Bowl. Unlike some previous anthem singers, Gaga chose not to lip-sync.
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On social media, Gaga was a trending sensation.
Jerry Springer declared it the "best halftime show ever."
"SLAYED IT!" exclaimed actress Pauley Perrette on Twitter.
"Lady Gaga jumps off things and I loved it," tweeted singer Sara Bareilles.
Daya wrote: "thank u gaga for ur innovative talent & inspiring messages of love. ur a tru badass angel."