Lady Gaga turned Coachella into a demonic opera with debut ‘Mayhem’ live show (review)

Just when it could’ve seemed like Lady Gaga was entering her “legacy artist” era (or focusing more on acting), she went ahead and released one of the best albums of her career with Mayhem and took control of the pop conversation once again. The album is filler-less and focused, with callbacks to classic Gaga as well as nods at forebears like Prince, Bowie, Blondie, Madonna, MJ, New Order, Daft Punk, and Nine Inch Nails, and the live show that she constructed for the new material is even more elaborate than the album itself. She debuted her new live show with a headlining set at day one (Friday, April 11) of Coachella 2025–with a set billed as Mayhem in the Desert–and it could’ve qualified as a Broadway musical. Her theatrical performance was broken up into four acts and a long-awaited finale that came off like Phantom of the Opera meets Thriller. She had a gigantic “demonic opera house” (her words) on stage, and tons of dancers, actors, costume changes and mini storylines being acted out during and in between songs. Seeing it in the desert, my only complaint is that it seemed a little more geared towards the livestream and the big screens than towards putting on a concert for the people in front of her–almost more like a Super Bowl halftime show than a festival set. But no matter where you were watching from, there was no denying that this was a next-level, massively impressive performance. And Gaga put together a bulletproof setlist and sounded fantastic for the entire nearly-two-hour set.

The set was very much geared towards Mayhem, and Gaga weaved in a perfectly-curated selection of older songs in a way that induced a rush of nostalgia but still felt very much like the Mayhem. The Born This Way-esque “Abracadabra” was surrounded by actual Born This Way songs “Bloody Mary,” “Judas,” and “Scheibe” in Act I and it made for a seamless opening that had the Coachella crowd in the palm of Gaga’s hands off the bat. That was followed by the first-ever live performance of “Garden of Eden,” a non-single highlight off Mayhem that already had as much power as her biggest hits, and when the intro synths of “Poker Face” trickled in after that it was pure euphoria.

That theme continued throughout–Act II had Mayhem lead single “Disease,” non-singles “Perfect Celebrity” and “The Beast,” and classic hits “Paparazzi” and “Alejandro,” all delivered and received by the crowd with equal fervor. Act III was all Mayhem, and it featured the only guest of the night, “Killah” co-producer Gesaffelstein manning the synths and bringing even moodier vibes than we’d felt yet. After the newer/deeper cuts of Act III, the fourth and final act was a little more hits-filled, with “Born This Way” and “Shallow,” and it ended on a climactic note, with Mayhem‘s “Vanish Into You.” It felt like a towering finish, but it obviously couldn’t be the end. Gaga left the stage, the minutes kept passing, and more and more of the crowd fizzled out. But would Gaga really headline Coachella and not play “Bad Romance”? The answer was a resounding “no.” The long gap was finally closed with the “finale,” aka a very extended rendition of “Bad Romance” which breathed so much new life into the song. Her array of backing musicians helped turn it into a heavy metal orchestra, and they gave it a lengthy instrumental coda as Gaga and her dancers gave a Broadway-style goodbye. It was maybe a little self-indulgent, but if any song could earn it, it’s that one.

See Gaga’s full weekend one setlist, and video from her set, below.

Coachella continues through Sunday, and you can stream it live HERE.

SETLIST: LADY GAGA @ COACHELLA 2025, 4/11/2025
Act I: Of Velvet and Vice
Bloody Mary
Abracadabra
Judas
Scheiße
Garden of Eden
Poker Face
Act II: And She Fell Into a Gothic Dream
Perfect Celebrity
Disease
Paparazzi
Alejandro
The Beast
Act III: The Beautiful Nightmare That Knows Her Name
Killah
Zombieboy
Die With a Smile
How Bad Do U Want Me
Act IV: To Wake Her Is to Lose Her
Shadow of a Man
Born This Way
Shallow
Vanish Into You
Finale: Eternal Aria of the Monster Heart
Bad Romance