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There will be costume changes, choreography and pyrotechnics 鈥� sometimes all at once.

In these ways, Lady Gaga鈥檚 first of three sold out nights at Scotiabank Arena could be considered typical.

But over more than two hours of the artist鈥檚 鈥淢ayhem Ball,鈥� Gaga鈥檚 ability to punch holes through the pop arena mould became clear.

The artist delivered 30 career-spanning tracks, but rather than merely sprinkling new material between nostalgic hits she masterfully repackaged her catalogue into a cohesive four-act narrative centred on her duelling dark and light sides.

A blond Gaga dressed in white fought against the red-clad 鈥淢istress of Mayhem鈥� in an elaborate power struggle woven through the evening, breathing new life into songs that, in some cases, were almost 20 years old.

Her performance, along with those of her two dozen backup dancers and band, traded squeaky-clean sheen for an edgier and more chaotic underbelly of pop. Through primal growls, monster claws and frenzied choreography, Gaga succeeded in bringing the concept of 鈥渕ayhem鈥� to life 鈥� anarchic but on point, deviant but delightful.

This isn鈥檛 to say the show is unpredictable. In 2025, the element of surprise has been essentially stripped from the arena tour experience.

Wednesday night鈥檚 fans could have scrolled through minute-by-minute concert footage before even stepping into the venue. Gaga performed almost all of the Mayhem Ball at April鈥檚 globally streamed Coachella festival (to mass critical acclaim).

But to witness the spectacle in person is another experience altogether.

Gaga sings opera atop a two-storey ball gown (鈥淏loody Mary鈥�). She plays human chess against her alter ego (鈥淧oker Face鈥�). She channels a Romeo and Juliet-coded 鈥淎lejandro鈥� from a gothic balcony.

The Mayhem Ball bridges theatre and pop in a singular way: placing Gaga at a unique intersection of art and pop maximalism.

Yet another swerve of pop arena convention is Gaga鈥檚 insistence on singing live. It鈥檚 an arduous commitment that forced her to cancel last week鈥檚 Miami stop at the last minute due to vocal strain, but she was in top form for the vast majority of Wednesday night鈥檚 show.

Whether she was lying down in a hospital gurney (鈥淏ad Romance鈥�), writhing in a sand pit (鈥淒isease鈥�), swinging around a cage (鈥淎bracadabra鈥�) or signing autographs (鈥淰anish Into You鈥�), Gaga delivered peerless vocals.

You can expect to have a good time at the Mayhem Ball, but you can also expect to be moved by moments of brilliant conceptual execution.

While singing about the pressures of fame (鈥淧aparazzi鈥�), one of the world鈥檚 biggest pop stars can be seen stumbling down a runway on chrome crutches with a flowing arena-length train billowing behind her. Before launching into the generational anthem 鈥淏orn This Way,鈥� the artist called out her loyal queer community.

鈥淚n case you鈥檙e wondering, this show is for you.鈥�

It鈥檚 clear what Gaga offers her fans, whom she calls 鈥渓ittle monsters.鈥� In place of an opening act, the arena displayed fan-submitted texts in the hour leading up to the show.

These 鈥淰oices of Mayhem鈥� would occasionally lean into the laugh (鈥淕aga was playing when I lost my v-card鈥�) but, more often, the messages revealed how the artist鈥檚 music and message had saved the fan in some way 鈥� from loneliness, depression, ostracization. How she helped them find identity, community and self-worth.

As one wove through crowds of bedazzled epaulettes, black veils, tulle fascinators and other callbacks to Gaga鈥檚 iconic looks, the gratitude was palpable.

But it also went both ways.

鈥淰ulnerability鈥� is used too flippantly when referring to an artist鈥檚 relationship with their fans. Most often, what an artist shares is calculated and measured. Understandably so 鈥� these guardrails have become critical in an increasingly parasocial fan-artist dynamic. But there were several moments when Gaga allowed her pop persona to fall.

鈥淚t鈥檚 OK, sometimes we all have a bad day and you just need to give yourself a pep talk,鈥� she said through tears before delivering a stunning piano rendition of 鈥淢arry the Night.鈥�

In these moments, Gaga turned the transactional nature of arena pop on its head. Rather than wringing herself dry for her fans鈥� enjoyment, she openly leaned on them for comfort.

鈥淵ou make me so happy,鈥� she said, wiping the tears away.

In her final break from pop convention, Gaga began her encore backstage by removing all her makeup. In show blacks, a bare face and a tuque, she returned to the stage to close the show with her dancers.

The 鈥淢ayhem Ball鈥� is about making peace with our personal chaos. Figuring out how to live with and harness our multitudes instead of repressing them and allowing others to do the same. As Gaga took her final bow, with her biggest smile of the evening, it certainly seemed that, a couple of decades into her career, she has figured it out for herself.