Lady Gaga is no stranger to creating a buzz, and her Coachella performance might be her most debated yet, according to some social media commentators.
Known as ‘Mother Monster,’ Lady Gaga doesn’t cater to the faint-hearted, as thousands of her ‘Little Monsters’ discovered firsthand at California’s much-anticipated Coachella festival on Friday, April 11.
The legendary pop star from New York made a triumphant return to the music scene with her sixth studio album, ‘Mayhem’, released in March this year.
This marks her second time headlining the festival, the first being in 2017 following the release of her 2016 album, ‘Joanne’.
Fans, referred to as ‘Little Monsters,’ experienced a nostalgic journey as Gaga performed tracks from her new album as well as hits from her 2011 ‘Born This Way’ album and her 2008 debut ‘The Fame’, as reported by PageSix.
She declared to the audience, “Welcome to my house of mayhem,” referencing her latest album, and indeed, mayhem ensued.
Gaga wowed the crowd by performing her 2008 hit ‘Poker Face’ on a large chessboard, with dancers acting as chess pieces.
She informed the audience of her intention to make a ‘romantic gesture’ by presenting them with an ‘opera house in the desert’ and proceeded with performances of ‘Abracadabra’, ‘Judas’, and ‘Scheiße’, all accompanied by novel and eerie props such as plague doctors, zombies, and skeletons.
Despite the striking visuals, elaborate costumes, and breathtaking sets, not everyone on social media was impressed.
Some viewers labeled the House of Gucci star as ‘demonic’. One said, “This is disturbing how such talent in choreography, stage production and amazing vocals is used to spread tales of death, evil, and satan.”
Another commented, “Why are the most popular artists so satanist and so loved?” while sharing a screenshot of Gaga in an avian costume with talon-like fingers.
“Just look at the Lady Gaga concert at Coachella right now,” remarked another viewer.
Nonetheless, these critiques were in the minority as many Gaga fans took to the internet to proclaim it not only the best performance by the ‘Alejandro’ singer but also the ‘greatest’ in Coachella’s history.
A fan tweeted, “Satanic rituals, fighting doppelgangers, chess queen dance battles, zombies, unsettling crutch walks…it’s a Lady Gaga opera at #Coachella. Our girl is back #GagaChella.”
“Oh Lady Gaga [is] easily one of the best headliners in Coachella history,” another fan asserted.
A third fan exclaimed, “I don’t know about you all but Lady Gaga performance deserves ALL kind of nominations in the world cause WTF IS THIS.”
“Lady Gaga didn’t headline Coachella,” added another observer. “She reimagined it. The direction, the operatic arrangements, the theatricality, the vocals, the architecture, the costumes, the light design. wagnerian in ambition, pop in language, divine in execution.”
Others simply labeled the performance as ‘art’ and expressed being left ‘speechless,’ calling it the ‘greatest Coachella set of all time.’
Prior to her performance, Gaga shared her mix of excitement and nerves about taking the stage.
In an interview with the New York Times, she stated: “I’m getting ready for Coachella, and I’m so, so excited, but I’ve definitely lost sleep a whole bunch of nights, and it’s because I want to do a great job.”
“If there’s a time and a date where you can make the public smile, from 11 p.m. to 1 in the morning on this day, I want to make it happen.”
This sensational show coincides with the 14-time Grammy winner’s announcement of tour dates across the US, UK, Europe, and Australia towards the end of 2025 for her ‘The Mayhem Ball’.