Lady Gaga wowed as many as 200,000 fans in Singapore at four sold out concerts held from May 18 and 24. Singapore was her only stop in Asia in her ongoing Mayhem tour so many fans travelled from the region to Singapore which reported a rise in flight bookings and hotel accommodation.
I was lucky enough to attend her third show on May 21 at the National Stadium which can accommodate about 55,000 people.
Stunning theatrical masterpiece
Many reviews have been written and my Top 3 favourite headlines sum up her wonderful and energetic performance: ‘A polished theatrical masterpiece’, ‘Gothic opera’, and ‘A stunning night of pop, drama, and Little Monsters’. ‘Little Monsters’ are what her fans are known as.
It was so delightful to see many of them making incredible effort to dress up in amazing outfits drawn from Lady Gaga’s iconic music videos despite the heat and humidity.
Flamboyant costumes, energetic dancing, an entourage of more than a dozen dancers and musicians lit up the stage in an energetic and mind-blowing two-hour performance that was set in five themed or operatic acts of over 20 songs. The choreography was spectacular and everything melted together to give us a joyous time throughout.
Her elaborate costumes ranged from an elaborately huge red Tudor gown that hung over stilts housing her dancers, armoured bodysuits, white feathered winged outfit and also simple, elegant outfits.
After a few songs, she launched into one of her most famous hits, ‘Poker Face’ much to everyone’s delight even though the song is now 17 years old, as young as some members of the audience.
While singing the 2010 track Alejandro, she brought out the Singapore flag and draped it over one of the large balconies on the set. At her recent concerts in Brazil and Mexico, she did the same with their national flags. It is a mark of respect for the countries that she is performing in, and we love it.
Her free show at Copacabana Beach in Brazil drew an estimated 2.5 million people, the highest-attended concert by a female artist.
When she spoke passionately about embracing individual identity, we knew that she would be singing ‘Born This Way’, which is her tribute to the LGBTQ+ community.
Lady Gaga taught herself how to play piano by ear when she was four years old. So as we expected her to sing the song Shallow, her Oscar-winning song from the movie A Star is Born, she wowed us with an acoustic rendition of the song while playing the piano. At this point, her voice resonated throughout the stadium, and you can feel that she was singing from her heart.
Lady Gaga whipped up a frenzy when she stepped down from the stage to meet her adoring fans, touched their hands, accepted bouquets and photos as well as signed autographs.
She closed the show with a fantastic rendition of one of her most famous songs Bad Romance, which has garnered nearly two billion views on YouTube.
There was no encore so we were sad the show had ended but we walked away with wonderful memories of this great performer giving her all out for all of us who attended her concert.
Why wasn’t the retractable roof opened?
The Singapore National Stadium boasts the world’s largest free-spanning dome and a retractable roof. This roof can be opened or closed to provide shade and protection from rain, and it also incorporates an innovative cooling system to keep spectators comfortable.
Unfortunately, we did not undergo such an experience that evening, some spectators even brought hand-held fans and I had to wipe off dripping sweat throughout. The floor is actually a football pitch that has been covered up for seats to be placed on it. And to prevent the chairs from being moved around, the legs of the seats were tied together.
And for short people like me, I could not see the stage properly as everyone on the floor had stood up. So, we basically had to stare at the giant screens for most of the performance and at times, blocked by a sea of mobile phones and waving hands. But that was fine as everyone was just enjoying themselves.
This demonstrates that the floor area would be more suitable as a standing area, just like how it was used for Bruno Mars’ concert last year. It is puzzling why this was an all-seated show as concert goers would get up to dance. The audience sitting in the terraced area had a better view of the stage.
See you again next time, Lady Gaga!
Photos featured here are provided by the writer.
