After much teasing, Lady Gaga finally gave the debut performance of her Las Vegas residency Enigma this weekend. As to be expected, the show was a creative spectacle, and aside from being the debut of her residency, the performance was notable for two reasons. At the end of the show, she gave her first public performance of A Star Is Born hit “Shallow.” Also during the back half of the set, she covered David Bowie’s 1997 single “I’m Afraid Of Americans.” The song is noteworthy in David Bowie’s discography in that it was the last one to appear in the top 100 of the US charts during Bowie’s lifetime; Blackstar singles “Blackstar” and “Lazarus” only charted after his death.
Gaga did a good job at generating hype for the residency, and Billboard described Gaga’s performance and the show thusly: “[Gaga served] an absolutely delicious smorgasbord of pop music, performance art and fantastic futurism during her 90-minute set that kicked off in true Gaga fashion. […] Enigma is a full theatrical production with an overarching theme of Lady Gaga seeking to find her inner voice in a narrative that is part Wizard Of Oz and part Ghost In The Shell as Gaga interacted with an artificial lifeform known as ‘Enigma’ on the oversized screens.”
The show was also the place to be if you’re into celebrity sightings: Seen taking in the performance were Katy Perry, Dave Grohl, Adam Lambert, and Jeremy Renner.
Watch clips from the show above and below.
