Lady Gaga turns Coachella win into stunning Kia Forum performance

Lady Gaga's Mayhem Ball Tour: A Grand Show in a Smaller Space

After delivering one of the most unforgettable performances at Coachella in April, Lady Gaga faced the challenge of topping that experience when her Mayhem Ball Tour arrived in July. The Coachella show had taken advantage of the festival’s massive main stage, but for the tour, she was booked into arenas with stages significantly smaller than the ones she had used in the desert. Despite this, the performance proved that size isn’t everything.

Lady Gaga opened her first of four nights at the Kia Forum on Monday, July 28, 2025, with “Bloody Mary” and “Abracadabra,” dressed in a striking crimson red outfit. The intimate setting allowed fans to experience the performance more closely than they could have at Coachella, where the vastness of the venue often made it difficult to see every detail.

The show featured 29 songs over more than two hours, with nine new additions making the setlist nearly a third longer than it was during the Coachella event. The production remained as creatively artistic as ever, with intricate stage designs, costumes, and choreography that captivated the audience throughout.

A Storyline of Dualities

The performance revolved around the dualities within the character Lady Gaga portrays. This theme was evident in the color palette, with a video clip opening the night showing a dialogue between two Gagas—one clad in black, the other in white. They faced off again later in the show after “Garden Of Eden,” with Gaga and her male dancers, all dressed in black, freezing in place as the number ended.

“Welcome to the opera house!” she shouted to the crowd, referencing the decrepit Victorian theater set. “This is your house, and this is my house.” She then turned to glare at a dancer dressed in a white gown with lace obscuring her face, asking, “What are you doing in my house?”

Highlights of the Night

“Poker Face” followed with Lady Gaga and her alter ego dancing it out on a black-and-white chessboard. Dancers divided equally into white and black costumes gyrated for their individual champion before Gaga shot her rival down.

The show was divided into four acts, mixing material from her 2025 album “Mayhem” with older hits from across her catalog. Act II, titled “And She Fell Into a Gothic Dream,” included new songs like “Perfect Celebrity” and “Disease,” which she performed while lying on her back in a sandy boneyard surrounded by skeletons and skulls.

Fans were treated to a run of fan favorites, including “Paparazzi” and “Alejandro,” with “LoveDrug” from her 2008 debut “The Fame” added to the setlist for the tour. “I fell into this dream a long time ago,” she said after “Alejandro,” reflecting on the past 20 years of her career. “It’s been 20 years we’ve spent together. I don’t ever want to wake up from this dream – please stay with me in this dream.”

Dance-Pop Grooves and New Additions

Act III shifted into dance-pop grooves, featuring new tunes like “Killah” and “Zombieboy.” Lady Gaga and her 24 dancers slinked up and down the stage, with fans dancing and singing along from their seats. “Just Dance,” an older number returned to her set since Coachella, received a huge response.

Act IV, “Every Chessboard Has Two Queens,” had the greatest difference from what it had been at Coachella. “Die With a Smile,” originally recorded as a duet with Bruno Mars, moved down from an earlier spot in the show. Three new additions for the tour—“Kill For Love,” “Summerboy,” and “Million Reasons”—also appeared.

Emotional Moments and Closing Acts

One of the most emotional moments of the night was “Born This Way,” an anthem written to support members of the LGBTQ community. “This is for the community,” she said as the song kicked off. “So hands up for your pride, for your freedom.” The crowd danced and sang as loudly as it had all night as Gaga descended to the pit alongside the ramp, hugging fans, accepting gifts, including a Pride flag, signing autographs, all without missing a note.

“Shallow,” her Oscar-winning song with Bradley Cooper from “A Star Is Born,” also stood out as the end of the show neared. For the tour, she stepped into a boat designed to look like the mythological Charon’s Boat, the vessel that carries passengers across the River Styx between the worlds of the living and dead. A red-clad figure pushed the boat down the ramp with a single oar as Lady Gaga sang one of her most moving ballads as most of the crowd sang with her.

Final Moments and Reflections

“Vanish Into You” closed out the main set, showcasing the strength of Lady Gaga’s voice after two hours of a physically intense performance. “Bad Romance” followed as the finale to the previous four acts before an encore of “How Bad Do U Want Me” and a singalong to the track of “Swine” closed out the night with bows from the entire troupe.

Throughout the show, Lady Gaga reflected on her journey, noting that she had moved from her hometown of New York City to Los Angeles at 19, and it hadn’t always been easy. “People didn’t always believe in me out here,” she said, growing emotional. “You believed in me. You were always there for me.”

Watching her performance and the audience’s reactions, it’s clear that this love and belief is a mutual thing.