Everyone’s freaking out about Lady Gaga‘s rendition of the National Anthem during Joe Biden‘s Inauguration this morning and rightfully so.
Gaga served up some Hunger Games realness in an enormous red and blue gown adorned with a gold dove carrying an olive branch in its mouth. She belted the song from the U.S. Capitol with a golden microphone.
Here’s what folx are saying…
Nobody:
Lady Gaga arriving at Capitol to sing the National Anthem: pic.twitter.com/bXMDHUIfJo
— Alert (@GagasAlerts) January 20, 2021
I can’t believe Lady Gaga invented the national anthem
— Sam Stryker (@sbstryker) January 20, 2021
Lady Gaga's dress has that built in social distance. Playing chess not checkers LG
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) January 20, 2021
ok Lady Gaga could do the anthem backwards in her sleep in multiple octaves at once but I still want to how many times she practiced this pic.twitter.com/rQb0TFXeIC
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) January 20, 2021
With that balcony performance Lady Gaga has low-key signaled a remake of Evita and the cold war with Madonna has reached its icy peak.
— Bryan Safi (@bryansafi) January 20, 2021
Oh, Lady Gaga decided to dress down! I was expecting something flashy.
— Lord Travis McElroy, The Internet's Best Friend (@travismcelroy) January 20, 2021
it’s so nice that they let joe biden have front row tickets to the lady gaga concert! pic.twitter.com/OoTd2GVIMl
— lana (not del rey) ?? (@retrosapphics) January 20, 2021
Please welcome to the stage President Lady Gaga and Vice President Jennifer Lopez.
— Crawford M Horton (@broiledcrawfish) January 20, 2021
Two weeks ago, the Capitol was under siege by a violent mob. Today, Lady Gaga turned to the Capitol, and pointed at the flag and sang “our flag was still there.”
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 20, 2021
The only thing better that this Hunger Games realness @ladygaga gave us is how she just slayed the American Anthem. pic.twitter.com/5XsyNlxKRC
— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) January 20, 2021
I think it’s cool Biden is getting inaugurated at a Lady Gaga concert.
— Eden Dranger (@Eden_Eats) January 20, 2021
Lady Gaga and JLo both crushed their performances.
And the sun just came out in DC.
Literally.
— Leah McElrath ???? (@leahmcelrath) January 20, 2021
Watch.
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While you’re here, check out J. Lo’s standout performance, as well.
Graham Gremore is the Features Editor and a Staff Writer at Queerty. Follow him on Twitter @grahamgremore.
Josh447
I didn’t think Gaga sounded particularly fab. She looked awesome tho. I kept thinking about Whitney. That was a slay.
Jlo really got me though. Amazing.
ShiningSex
JHo was awful. Girl re listen.
Both of their music sucks. Love Biden though.
TeachPeaceNow
Whitney has some tough shoes to fill. Very hard to compete with Ms Whitney Houston. Star Spangled Banner…NO ONE yet has come close to Whitney.
Charlie in Charge
I feel like no one will ever approach Whitney Houston’s 1991 Super Bowl anthem.
Bromancer7
I agree, I really didn’t think it was that great. Good, sure. But epic? Nope. I was expecting better from Gaga.
WSnyder
If you haven’t realized it, Lady Gaga was channeling the lyrics of our Anthem as a statement about how our country persevered 2 weeks ago. That’s why she motioned to the Flag.
The Domestic Terrorists [who are in hiding this very day] think they’re the Patriots, but they don’t get the Fundamental Values of what this Country is and what We are about. The more acts like on the 6th they commit, the more unpopular they will become. Their high-water mark is over, it’s time for them to scurry back under the rocks.
That’s why Lady Gaga’s singing of this song hit it’s prefect resonance on this day and in that place and at this time.
exgoalie
So well put!!!
TeachPeaceNow
Said well. Absolutely
jrmat654
very well said… and may I add… an amazing exhilarating day… even the sun shined here for the first time in weeks, if not, it sure seemed like it… welcome back America
Nosso Crankee
Your thoughts parallel mine completely, she delivered the anthem as a narrative of the recent terrorist event in the Capitol; your description was both lucid and dead on.
JustLarry
Lady Gaga is an American treasure, i’m so glad she sang the national anthem… so fitting. I also liked that her peace pin was bigger than everyone else’s which means she REALLY wants it. She was the perfect choice to reunite our country.
Cam
Of course a troll account that supported officials who instigated a treasonous attack on the U.S. Capitol would mock someone for being sincere.
Better Gaga wearing a peace pin, then Republican traitors thinking wearing a flag lapel pin covers up their treason.
michael_totzke
Nice. Full-throttled but not OTT … BRAVA!
BigWill
I said the same thing to a friend; it’s an almost impossible song to sing, and I thought she was incredible. Lady Gaga and Whitney Houston’s versions both gave me chills.
Jim
They say that the Star Spangled Banner is one of the most difficult songs to sing.
Yet Stephanie did it well and did it with emotion !!!
jayceecook
I didn’t find it all that great and the overabundance of praise is a little odd. Maybe people are just so full of glee and hope now that the WS has been sanitized, mostly, of the Cheeto dust from the past 4 years to be critical.
I much prefer her rendition of the National Anthem from the Super Bowl in 2016 with the Celine Dion chest thump near the end.
ShiningSex
Celine, Gaga, JHo all suck.
Still love Biden though.
rickywintour
She should get an over abundance of praise for doing something amazing on a great day. She did a good job and maybe it wouldn’t kill you to be positive instead of being a negative Nancy. But your more than likely an old bitter queen so I can’t expect you to be anything other than miserable.
jayceecook
@ShiningSex and @rickywintour
I can tell you’re frustrated and/or angry. Can I ask you something? How can you move beyond where you are now? Give me 3 words of how you want to feel every day…. Do you think if you lived into those 3 words, you would feel better?
TomG
I personally loved Gaga’s version of the anthem, she DID slay it !
Kangol2
I thought both Lady Gaga and J-Lo were superb. Congrats to the new President, Joe Biden, and new Vice President, Kamala Harris!
drumstick
J-Lo calling out “One nation. Indivisible. Under God” in Spanish was touching.
iminheatlikeacat
The moment was ruined when she shoehorned her own song into it
Doug
I thought it was one of the bestl renditions of the national anthem I’ve ever heard.
amanwithanedge
Gaga was incredible!
RyanMBecker
Many years ago, when Gaga was just becoming famous, she performed at the LGBT March on Washington. She prefaced the song by saying that being there was the proudest moment of her life. I’m betting that this performance is now her biggest honor. And yes, she slayed it.
As for Jennifer Lopez, I must say that I was pleasantly surprised. She sang acapella a few years ago and was awful. Her voice was pitchy and wobbled all over the place. I was convinced that she couldn’t sing without Autotune™ and bassy music to mask her deficiencies. But she was actually pretty good here.
I thought Garth Brooks, who sang Amazing Grace acapella, was also excellent.
Cam
Wonderful rendition.
RyanMBecker
All three performers — Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez and Garth Brooks — are gay-friendly. Lady Gaga’s support for the LGBT community is well-known. In fact, she’s a gay icon. Her support for the community started early in her career. When she sang at the LGBT March on Washington, she said that it was proudest moment of her life.
Jennifer Lopez is also known to be gay-friendly. I believe she played a lesbian in a movie. And she talks openly about her gay aunt. She was the inspiration for a lesbian character in The Fosters, a TV show that Lopez produced.
Garth Brooks has spoken openly about his support for gays. That’s not easy in country music but having a lesbian sister helped. His song, We Shall Be Free, has lyrics which expresses his support:
We shall be free, we shall be free.
Stand straight, walk proud,
‘Cause we shall be free.
When we’re free to love anyone we choose,
When this world’s big enough for all different views,
When we all can worship from our own kind of pew,
Then we shall be free.
KenDC
I did not know he has a lesbian sister. I appreciate his participation today, apparently at Dr. Biden’s invitation.
cuteguy
JLo played a “lesbian” in Gigli, the critically panned film she did with her then bf Ben Affleck.
RyanMBecker
KenDC,
Well, I was only half right. Literally. She was his half-sister. Google the Billboard article, “18 Singers With LGBTQ Siblings & Family Members.” Here’s an except:
“Garth Brooks. The rock star’s half-sister was lesbian country singer Betsy Smittle, an outspoken LGBTQ+ advocate who passed away due to cancer in 2013. In 1992, Smittle collaborated with Brooks on his civil rights anthem “We Shall Be Free,” a social commentary on ridding the earth of worldly despotism”
Interestingly, Billboard calls Brooks a “rock star” when he is normally considered country.
From the article, “Seven Things You May Not Have Known About… Garth Brooks”:
“7. He’s a huge supporter of gay rights and marriage equality. Brooks’ half sister Betsy Smittle who sadly passed away was a lesbian and he credits her with his views on gay rights and marriage equality. In 2000, he appeared at Equality Rights benefit concert for Gay Rights and sang a duet with George Michael.”
The performance with Michaels can be found in YouTube.
TruthBeKnown
Lady Gaga & her National Anthem: Great voice. Great passion. Poor song arrangement.
woodroad34
Gaga sure has a set of lungs on her and it was a powerful rendition of a particularly difficult song to sing. She sang clearly–you can actually hear the words–and strongly like America’s anthem should be sung.
BoomerMyles
I can’t believe Mike Pence and Mitch McConnel got see both Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez before I did.
Joshooeerr
I guess you have to me American to believe that a cheesy sub-Broadway rendition of your national anthem sung by a woman dressed as though for a 1920s Hollywood adaptation of a lesser Sigmund Romberg operetta is just dandy. To anyone looking from outside it looks awfully like part of the problem y’all have with what’s appropriate.
Kev57
And just where are you from, mate? Maybe you oughta keep your nose out of our business.
Cam
Ugh, who gave Boris Johnson an account?
cuteguy
Lady Katniss sang like it was her victory lap of the hunger games. Absolutely slayed, no pun intended. JLo was incredible and looked even better, as usual. Hallow be thy JLo. It was really nice to see Garth Brooks be there and kiss and hug everyone, social distancing be damned. So glad he dressed up in his fancy jeans for the special occasion.
RyanMBecker
Great musical performances but where was Streisand singing, Happy Days Are Here Again? It would’ve been perfect (and more reflective of Biden’s generation).
LOL … Is it any wonder people think I’m gay and much older than 20-something…
RyanMBecker
Special kudos to Garth Brooks for participating. As he himself quipped, he was probably the only Republican there (which was obviously a joke, since Mitch McConnell and George Bush were there). More seriously, he was attacked by conservative country music fans for participating, just as he was attacked for supporting gay equality. Google to see the tweets.