Lady Gaga dives into Super Bowl history

She jumped off the roof of Houston's NRG stadium 
and bathed in the light of hundreds of drones - but Lady Gaga's Super Bowl show was fairly restrained... by her standards.

The star only changed costume twice, letting her music do
 the talking in a 12-minute, hit-laden set.

She opened with Woody Guthrie's civil rights anthem
 This Land Is Your Land, a gentle but pointed rebuke to the Trump administration; which she reinforced by performing Born This Way her hymn to acceptance and inclusion.

"No matter black, white or beige... I was born to be brave," 
she sang to an expected US TV audience of 110 million.

But Gaga refrained from overt sermonising, simply saying: "We're here to make you feel good" (and, later on, "hello mum").

Ahead of the Super Bowl, the star said her show would 
be" inclusive" and celebrate "the spirit of equality". 

Sponsors Pepsi simply said it would be " uniquely Gaga ".

And, while she didn't hatch from an egg (as at the 2011 Grammy Awards) or smear herself in blood (2009's 
Monster Ball tour), it was certainly spectacular.

Gaga first appeared 79 metres above the crowd, as a 
swarm of drones hovered behind her; twinkling in the sky before adopting the colours of the stars and stripes
 during Woody Guthrie's left- wing anthem.

"One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice
 for all," said the star, who promptly did a swan-dive from 
the roof, landing on a towering, torch-like structure several stories below.

There, she launched into a dizzying medley of hit singles including Poker Face, Just Dance and Telephone, backed
 by an army of dancers.

Her vocals were strong and resonant throughout - 
although the intricate choreography left her out of breath 
for the set's sole ballad, Million Reasons.

Fans who flooded the pitch were given torches that
 flashed in time to the music, spelling out lyrics and
 making elaborate, co- ordinated patterns.

A Sport presenter Mark Chapman revealed that the
 entire stadium - including his commentary booth and 
the public toilets - had been plunged into darkness to
 make the visuals work on television.

Gaga ended the set with Bad Romance, backed by 40
 dancers, dressed in blinding white costumes inspired 
by American Football uniforms.

Finishing the show atop a staircase, Gaga shouted 
"Super Bowl 51," dropped her microphone and jumped
 into the crowd holding a glittery silver football.

"This is for you Monsters," the star tweeted to her 
fanbase. "I love you."

The last time the Super Bowl was held in Houston the
 half time performer was Janet Jackson, whose 
infamous "wardrobe malfunction" made the NFL wary of
 hiring young, edgy pop stars for several years.

Gaga posed no such problems, taming her worst excesses
 to deliver a streamlined, spectacular show that reminded many fans why they love her.

And while her performance lacked the political punch of Beyonce last year; or even a gif-able meme like Katy
 Perry's "left shark", there wasn't a single mis-step or 
misfiring moment.

The star was invited to play the half time show after 
singing the National Anthem at the 50th Super Bowl in California last year.

She said she had studied the greats (name-checking
 Michael Jackson, Diana Ross and Bruce Springsteen)
 before beginning work on her show in September.

"I want every guy's girlfriend in his arms; I want every
 husband and wife kissing; every kid laughing," she told 
Radio Disney last year.

"In my mind they're having this really powerful family experience watching the Super Bowl."

According to the ERICGOSSIP, the drone light show
 required special permission from the Federal Aviation Authority - which had established a 34.5-mile-radius 
"no-drone zone" around the stadium during the game for safety and security reasons.