Lady Gaga brought a welcome – and moving – razzmatazz to Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration when she performed the national anthem on Wednesday morning during his precedent.
The pop star wore a fluffy red gown and a navy jacket with a large dove pin and summoned her most convincing Broadway diva atmosphere as she belted the famous difficult tune, played softly with the tempo and bent notes in unexpected directions.
Her voice? Big and sharp. Her expression? Lie sparkling. Her arms? Waving with intensity.
The singer’s accompaniment by the United States Marine Band had a cool, jazzy lilt – especially since she took her time to deliver the lyrics on how the “flag was still there” – which made you wish they were more frequent had to play with showy pop stars. (And given Gaga’s long friendship with Biden, for whom she campaigned, they might as well.)
Yet Gaga did not miss the seriousness of the moment: At the end of the song, she turned her gaze admiringly to the Stars and Stripes – the same emblem that ripples on the National Mall in place of the hundreds of thousands of Americans who could not. ‘ to be there in person because of COVID-19 – and apparently reclaimed the place where rebels made their heinous attack on the Capitol two weeks ago.
Then she went to her seat and put on a mask.