Lady Gaga: Chromatica Ball Review

After 4 years, Lady Gaga released her 6th solo studio album titled “Chromatica” back in May of 2020. This album had the same style as the old Gaga which gained her more popularity. With big lead singles like “Rain On Me” and “Stupid Love”, this album was going to be huge, and it was. But because of COVID-19 spreading, Gaga couldn't tour. But since the virus has been dying down, she announced her tour earlier this year. The tour entitled “The Chromatica Ball” had its first stop in Dusseldorf, Germany in mid-July this year. On August 26th though, the queen of pop performed at Truist Park in Atlanta, and of course I had to go.

Visuals:

To start off, the visuals were incredible. Gaga had the concert sectioned into 5 acts so that she would be able to have an outfit change in between each. During these outfit changes, there were videos and images that were projected on the massive screens. The videos were very exaggerated and would show Gaga in extravagant and over-the-top outfits. For example, in one introduction video, she had a unique wig, with heavy makeup, and she posed like she was a queen; accompanied by royal music in the background. These introduction videos set the tone for the show and created a feel for the upcoming act. They provided great entertainment during Gaga’s outfit changes. 

Outfits:

Gaga’s outfits were the greatest. They were so “camp”, meaning that they were excessive and lavish. She wore pieces like an oversized gold jacket, a leather jumpsuit with designs, and an alien-like head mask with horns that extended down to her legs. During the first song in Act II, “Alice”, she was latched onto a giant stone board, she was cuffed to it the entire song. She was dressed in a long jacket that had elevated, and wing-like shoulders that made her look like a beautiful moth. Under that jacket was my favorite outfit of the show, by far. The piece was made of a PVC see-through shirt, covered in cosmetic blood. The bottoms were hot red, tight shorts, and had a long piece of red fabric that flowed down in between her legs. And of course, she had leather, knee-high boots on, because it's Lady Gaga.

Setlist:

The setlist was phenomenal. It had a mixture of songs from different albums that followed her whole career. With songs from Gaga’s first album titled “The Fame” like “Poker Face” and “Just Dance”, to songs on her most recent album “Chromatica” with ten out of the thirteen songs on album. Now, there was one problem I had with this setlist. Gaga totally forgot about The Little Monsters (Gaga’s fandom name) most loved album, “ARTPOP”. Although “ARTPOP” wasn’t received by the public well, it is her fan’s favorite album (including mine). Gaga played one of my favorite songs entitled “Angel Down” which is about the gun and overall violence including racism in America and how people die because of it. I wasn’t expecting Gaga to play this song, but once she did, I burst into tears. In general, the setlist was close to perfect and made the concert so nostalgic. 

Performance:

If someone doesn’t like Lady Gaga, they have to at least admit that she is a fantastic performer. When Gaga steps out onto a stage, she automatically fills and lights it all up. She is the greatest performer I've seen live because of her grand movements and expressions. Backed up by her dancers, she also danced throughout most of the songs. The dancers were so sharp and coordinated which made the stage, even more, lit up. Speaking of lit up, there were humongous flame blasters that shot up the biggest and hottest flames I have ever witnessed. I was pretty far back from the stage because it was at Truist Park, but I felt the fire very well. I can’t imagine how hot it was for the people standing very close to them but I'm sure someone’s eyebrows got burned off. 

Overall, this was my favorite concert of the year (and I've been to eight so far). From when she stepped out on that stage, to her piano section, to when she ended the concert with fire surrounding her. Lady Gaga knows how to put on an amazing concert. Period. 

By Marco Schittone