There are concerts, there are productions, and then there are the nights when Lady Gaga turns an arena into her own personal operatic fever dream. Her September 2025 performance at Madison Square Garden wasn’t just a return to the stage—it was a reminder that Gaga remains one of the few artists who can fuse pop spectacle, theatrical drama, and raw musicianship without missing a beat. This show was sprawling, structured like a four-act opera (plus a finale), and loaded with deep cuts, reimagined hits, and enough costume and lighting changes to rival a Broadway season.
The crowd was buzzing even before the lights dimmed. MSG has always been one of Gaga’s spiritual homes—New York is where she honed her craft, built her identity, and exploded into global fame. There’s a hometown electricity that comes with seeing her perform there, a sense that the Garden brings out her most fearless, most experimental instincts. And this night was exactly that: bold, weird, emotional, and fully committed to the narrative she crafted for this tour-without-a-tour.
When the room finally went dark and a chilling operatic recording filled the arena, it was clear this wasn’t going to be a straightforward pop set. Gaga wanted to take the crowd somewhere else entirely—and everyone seemed ready to go.
Act I: Of Velvet And Vice
The night opened with Bloody Mary, delivered in a shortened, operatic format that felt like the start of a gothic fairy tale. Drenched in red lighting and shadow, Gaga emerged like a queen from another realm, her vocals grand and theatrical. It set the tone perfectly for the night: nothing was going to be predictable.
She glided into Abracadabra, introduced with a partially a capella intro that made the arena go silent. Then Judas arrived—ferocious, pulsing, and cleverly woven with pieces of Abracadabra to tie the act’s themes together. Gaga leaned into the song’s dark religious iconography with renewed intensity, her dancers circling her like a ritual.
Aura and Scheiße followed in tightly wound, shortened versions that still hit like sledgehammers. Both tracks were reworked to share DNA with the earlier songs in the act, creating a seamless musical narrative, something she’s increasingly embraced in her live shows. But the moment that really made Act I shine was Garden of Eden. With an extended orchestral and operatic intro—and Gaga taking up the guitar—it became a dramatic centerpiece rather than a deep cut. When she finally launched into Poker Face with a full operatic prelude, the crowd finally hit that first wave of nostalgia-scream ecstasy.
The act closed with a wild, high-energy Abracadabra remix (the Gesaffelstein version), staged as a ballroom battle. Few pop artists would even attempt something this theatrical mid-set. Gaga didn’t just attempt it—she thrived in it.
Act II: And She Fell Into A Gothic Dream
The second act leaned darker, more melancholic, and more introspective. Gaga shifted from queen to fallen angel for Perfect Celebrity and Disease, both with extended intros that let her prowling vocals breathe. You could feel her pushing the emotional temperature down, making the arena feel smaller, more intimate, even as the production stayed enormous.
Then came a reworked Paparazzi that took the classic fame-anxiety ballad and slowed it into a noir confession. The extended outro added an eerie, echoing refrain that made the song feel tragic instead of glamorous. It’s rare that a hit this big can be reinvented so effectively.
LoveGame arrived with a new, dramatic extended intro that led into a pulsing, sleek version, and then Alejandro quickly followed. But it was The Beast—a theatrical, snarling track—that became the highlight of the act. When Gaga strapped on a guitar after the second chorus, the Garden erupted. She’s always been underrated as a musician, and moments like this remind people she’s more than a pop icon—she’s a performer with a toolbox full of technical skill.
Act III: The Beautiful Nightmare That Knows Her Name
The third act brought the show into its most surreal, experimental territory. Killah and Zombieboy, both with extended intros and outros, leaned heavily into the industrial-pop side of Gaga’s catalog. The visuals here were stunning—harsh lighting, glitching screens, dancers moving like broken marionettes. It felt like a dream sequence that kept slipping into a nightmare.
LoveDrug shifted the tone again, smoother and more melodic, before Gaga kicked into a shortened but powerful Applause. Even in this streamlined form, the song soared.
But the biggest crowd reaction of this act came with the reimagined Just Dance, delivered as a strange, mesmerizing alternative version that felt more nostalgic and melancholy than celebratory. Rather than trying to recreate 2008, Gaga embraced its age—she transformed the song into something reflective. It was the closest thing to her sitting the crowd down and saying, “Look at how far we’ve come together.”
She closed the act with Wake Her Up!, folding in elements of the Abracadabra (Cirkut Remix) motif that threaded throughout the show. It made the whole concert feel like a true opera—repeated phrases, recurring melodic ghosts, and narrative callbacks.
Act IV: Every Chessboard Has Two Queens
The fourth act was the emotional core of the night. Gaga entered in a costume that blended royal imagery with punk grit, perfectly fitting a sequence about love, identity, and self-realization.
Shadow of a Man opened with a long, dramatic intro that let her vocal power shine. Then Kill for Love came quickly, short but intense, a palate cleanser before the nostalgic warmth of Summerboy, which Gaga played guitar on. Fans who knew her from the earliest days lost their minds—this song rarely appears live.
After that moment of sweetness came the spiritual punch: Born This Way. With a swelling extended intro, the song felt like a stadium anthem again—huge, proud, and built for MSG. By the time she hit the chorus, the crowd wasn’t just singing; they were shouting, crying, hugging strangers. It was one of those signature Gaga-in-New-York moments where the message gets amplified by the weight of the city.
The emotional highs continued with an alternate version of Million Reasons, blending in electronic motifs from Abracadabra and even a touch of Giorgio Moroder’s Tears. It was dreamy and heartbreaking all at once.
The run of ballads that followed showed just how much range Gaga has. Shallow, performed in a textured new arrangement, hit hard. Then came Die With a Smile, stripped completely down, just Gaga and the rawness of her voice. And The Edge of Glory—played solo and acoustic on piano—nearly stole the entire night. Few artists can pull off a full arena show and still create a moment that feels like a living room performance. Gaga can.
She closed the act with Vanish Into You, a deep, emotional cut that served as a quiet breath before the final explosion.
Finale: Eternal Aria of the Monster Heart
The lights snapped to white, the stage turned cathedral-like, and Gaga launched into Bad Romance with the kind of volcanic energy that made her a superstar. This wasn’t the album version, the video version, or even the typical live version—it was something more unhinged, more operatic, and more powerful. The crowd went ballistic. If the show ended here, no one would have complained.
But instead, the screens rolled credits in a dramatic flourish, as if the audience had just watched a grand film. It was a smart, stylish touch that let everyone breathe before the encore.
Encore
The encore started with How Bad Do U Want Me, delivered with swagger and sharp choreography. Then she closed the night with The Dead Dance, singing portions live and letting the pre-recorded vocals blend into the mix. It was dark, theatrical, and strange—exactly the kind of ending Gaga loves.
When she finally left the stage, the crowd stayed put, cheering long after the final note faded. The entire experience felt like Gaga throwing down the gauntlet, proving she can still evolve, still surprise, still dominate the stage in ways few artists can match.
This wasn’t just a concert. It was a reminder that Lady Gaga is still one of the most daring performers alive—fearless, emotional, eccentric, and fully in command of her powers. And seeing her unleash all of that at Madison Square Garden? Pure magic.
Setlist – Lady Gaga – Madison Square Garden – September 2025
Act I: Of Velvet And Vice
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Bloody Mary
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Abracadabra
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Judas
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Aura
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Scheiße
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Garden of Eden
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Poker Face
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Abracadabra (Gesaffelstein Remix)
Act II: And She Fell Into A Gothic Dream
9. Perfect Celebrity
10. Disease
11. Paparazzi
12. LoveGame
13. Alejandro
14. The Beast
Act III: The Beautiful Nightmare That Knows Her Name
15. Killah
16. Zombieboy
17. LoveDrug
18. Applause
19. Just Dance
20. Wake Her Up!
Act IV: Every Chessboard Has Two Queens
21. Shadow of a Man
22. Kill for Love
23. Summerboy
24. Born This Way
25. Million Reasons
26. Shallow
27. Die With a Smile
28. The Edge of Glory
29. Vanish Into You
Finale
30. Bad Romance
31. Credits
Encore
32. How Bad Do U Want Me
33. The Dead Dance