Music

8 truly gag-worthy highlights from the opening night of Lady Gaga’s Mayhem Ball tour

Jul 17
Written by Alastair James

Lady Gaga performs during the kick off of The MAYHEM Ball tour (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation)

Lady Gaga is back with The Mayhem Ball! And from what we’ve seen Mother Monster is certainly pulling out all the stops for her latest tour, which started in Las Vegas.

The Mayhem Ball tour kicked off in amazing style last night (Wednesday 16 July) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with plenty of highlights, as well as some madness. Among the highlights was the sheer range of the set list, the aesthetics, and Gaga’s top-tier LGBTQ+ allyship.

“Before I came on stage tonight, I couldn’t even believe you were here for me,” the “abracadabra” singer told the crowd during a particularly emotional moment in the show. And the show went down a storm with attendees and fans online who, like us, have poured over the footage all morning.

“It’s like the coachella performances was just the free trial and the mayhem ball was the real deal,” wrote one fan on a TikTok from the night. We couldn’t agree more and we’re eagerly awaiting Gaga’s arrival in the UK later this year. She is due to perform at the O2 Arena on 29 and 30 September and then again on the 2 and 4 October.

Here are just a few of the highlights from the opening night of The Mayhem Ball in Las Vegas.

The opening number

@.itsramon “bloody mary/abracadabra” @ladygaga, the mayhem ball | las vegas, nv | july 16, 2025 #ladygaga #mayhem #mayhemball #themayhemball #ladygagatour #abracadabra #concert #livemusic ♬ original sound – ramon

Lady Gaga knows how to put on a show and The Mayhem Ball gets off to a mesmerising start. After tuning the audience into the dramatic and at time operatic theme for the evening Gaga arrived onstage in her iconic cage skirt from her Coachella performance earlier this year. Mother Monster then launched into a mash up of “Bloody Mary” and “Abracadabra.”

“The opening was way too iconic to be scrapped or changed entirely,” said one fan. “This concert feels like a level-up — or the fully realized version” of Gaga’s Coachella set. We have to agree!

The Mayhem Ball setlist

@tomasmier LADY GAGA PERFORMS SUMMERBOY DURING MAYHEM BALL OPENING NIGHT IN LAS VEGAS #ladygaga #mayhemball #mayhemballvegas #summerboy @ladygaga ♬ summerboy by lady gaga – j’aime

After the opening number Gaga went on to deliver a stunning performance spanning most of her discography. We’ve spotted clips showing off songs from The Fame, The Fame Monster, Born This Way, ARTPOP, Joanne, and Mayhem as well as A Star is Born.

Fans were particularly happy to hear ARTPOP‘s “Aura” and “Applause” as well as “Summerboy” from The Fame. “She really listened to us 😭 this is all we wanted,” celebrated one fan to a video of “Summerboy.” Another added, “AURA APPLAUSE AND SUMMERBOY???? She loves her fans OMG.” We did notice an absence of Chromatica music though.

THAT rainbow cape

Lady Gaga’s cape turns rainbow-colored during a performance of ‘Paparazzi’ at the opening night of the Mayhem Ball Tour in Las Vegas. pic.twitter.com/6M2NYv89io
— Pop Base (@PopBase) July 17, 2025

Ever the shining example of constant LGBTQ+ allyship, during her performance of “Paparazzi” Lady Gaga’s cape turned into a vibrant rainbow which we’re taking as a nod to her loyal queer fans.

Performing “Shallow” in a boat

@tomasmier Lady Gaga performs Shallow during Mayhem Ball opening night in Las Vegas #ladygaga #mayhemball #mayhemballvegas #ladygagaconcert #shallowladygaga @ladygaga ♬ Shallow – Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper

“Jesus christ, what popstar actually does shows this spectacular? she is something else,” one fan said of Gaga’s rendition of “Shallow” from A Star is Born. The singer took to a boat where she was moved around by a Gothic-punk-esque gondolier dressed in red. It was very The Phantom of the Opera with her Ally character from the 2018 film taking on the Christine role with vocals to match.

Her speech

@tomasmier Lady Gaga addresses crowd during Mayhem Ball opening night in Las Vegas #ladygaga #mayhemball #mayhemballvegas @ladygaga #vanishintoyou ♬ original sound – tomás mier

During the show Gaga took a minute to pay tribute to the audience and all of her fans. “Thank you for being such a wonderful community that I can rely on,” she said from behind the piano. “The ritual of being yourself is a beautiful practice. It’s a practice you deserve to have every day of your life,” she also said in words that echo the sentiment behind her queer anthem, “Born This Way.”

Performing backstage

@vegas Obsessed with the ending of @ladygaga MAYHEM Ball. A night I’ll never forget. #mayhemball ♬ original sound – Las Vegas

As she brought the show to an end, Gaga lifted the veil behind the production as she undressed for a candid performance of “How Bad Do U Want Me” from Mayhem. One fan wondered if it was Gaga paying homage to the drag community writing, “Some drag queens have famously stripped back to men after there performances and I love this homage.”

The costumes

@stubhub Mayhem Tour is EVERYTHING. @ladygaga is feeding us 😩 #mayhemball #ladygaga #mayhem ♬ original sound – StubHub

Gaga is never one to shy away from an aesthetic especially in her costumes. In The Mayhem Ball the costumes vary with some incorporating a Gothic and steampunk aesthetic whilst others throwback to past iterations of Gaga such as the alter-ego she faced in “Pokerface”.

The staging

Much like the costumes Gaga went all out on the staging for The Mayhem Ball, turning the arena into an opera house complete with balconies and intricate details.

@hloisecoopergaga4life So excited for the Mayhem ball tour ❤️❤️❤️😍🥰🙏🥹😭😭🥺🥺 this stage is unreal , so beautiful @ladygaga @Haus Labs by Lady Gaga @Sarah Tanno @stefanigermanott5 #MAYHEM #mayhemball #fyp #foryoupage❤️❤️ #goviral #blowup #pawsup #ladygaga #ladygagamayhem #lg7 #littlemonster #ladygaga4life #gagatok #gagatiktok #ladygagasingapore #mayhemsingapore #stage ♬ Garden Of Eden – Lady Gaga