Gaga Chromatica Ball

Gaga Chromatica Ball is a television special directed and produced by American singer-songwriter, Lady Gaga. The television special documents Gaga's performance at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, on September 10, 2022 as part of The Chromatica Ball (2022), which supported her sixth studio album, Chromatica (2020). The concert film was released on May 25, 2024, through HBO and its streaming service, Max. Gaga partnered with the network 13 years prior for the release of her first solo concert film Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden.

Background and production
The Chromatica Ball, Lady Gaga's seventh headlining concert tour, was initially announced for the summer of 2020 as a limited concert series in support of her sixth studio album, Chromatica (2020). Due to the uprising concerns and restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tour was postponed until 2021, before later being pushed back again for 2022.

New dates for the tour were scheduled and officially announced in March 2022. The new itinerary expanded the tour to include additional cities, notably Düsseldorf, Germany, where the tour made its debut. The concert tour began in July, visiting North America, Europe, and Asia before concluding on September 17 in Miami Gardens, Florida. It ultimately grossed an estimated $112.4 million from 20 shows and 834,000 tickets sold.

Gaga commissioned an unknown project recording in September 2022, located at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California. In June 2023, the artist shared a lengthy social media post in which she confirmed that the upcoming project was a concert film. She shared that she had been working on the film alongside various other projects, including completing the filming of Joker: Folie à Deux (2024), while also spending alone time "healing". Gaga both directed and produced the film with Arthur Fogel and John Janick acting as executive producers.

Synopsis
The special includes the entirety of the show, including the interludes. The show itself, approximately 120-minutes long, was divided into a prelude, four acts, and a finale, each accompanied by interludes directed by Nick Knight. It depicted Gaga's journey from confinement to liberation. The prelude featured Gaga performing her earliest songs. She appeared atop a set piece reminiscent of a giant slab of concrete singing "Bad Romance", while standing still inside a leather sarcophagus-type garment with only her face visible, which she gradually shed layers during "Just Dance" and "Poker Face".

The first act opened with Gaga seemingly covered in blood, on an elevated operating table for "Alice", followed by "Replay" and "Monster" with intense choreography. The second act featured her in a vinyl dominatrix ensemble for "911" and "Sour Candy", followed by "Telephone" with flamethrowers. "LoveGame" combined dance-pop with heavy metal elements. The third act included "Babylon" and "Free Woman", transitioning to "Born This Way" at the piano.

In the fourth act, Gaga wore insect-inspired attire while playing the piano on another stage, singing "Shallow", "Always Remember Us This Way", "The Edge of Glory", "Angel Down" and "Fun Tonight". "Enigma" featured a dynamic performance with a spinning microphone stand. The finale included "Stupid Love" and "Rain on Me" in a crystal bodysuit, followed by an encore with "Hold My Hand" from Top Gun: Maverick (2022). The special concludes with Gaga teasing the release of new music as an unknown snippet plays and "LG7 Gaga returns" flashes on the screen.

Release
Gaga announced the special's release date on May 8, 2024 via her social medias. She revealed its trailer the same day, which primarily featured "Stupid Love"—Chromatica's lead single. Gaga Chromatica Ball aired on HBO and was made available for streaming on Max on May 25. 13 years prior, HBO had aired Gaga's previous concert film, Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden (2011), with the network's executive vice president, Nina Rosenstein, sharing that they were "thrilled" to work with her again. On May 23, 2024, Gaga held a premiere screening for selected fans in Los Angeles. The event included exhibits displaying costumes and props from the tour in addition to a Q&A session with the singer.

Critical response
Upon release, Gaga Chromatica Ball received positive reviews. Writing for The Daily Beast, Coleman Spilde praised the special, stating that "it's an exhilarating watch from start to finish" that shows refinement of "Gaga's big, offbeat ideas". Spilde singled out the performances of "Sour Candy" and "Replay" as "particularly fun to watch" and complimented Gaga's ability to make her older hits like "Just Dance" and "Poker Face" sound "fresh" within the show. Joey Nolfi with Entertainment Weekly called the special "bonkers, brash, and unabashedly pop" and felt that the inclusion of the tour's interludes clarified the overall storyline and thematic elements of both Chromatica and the tour. Nolfi also highlighted the performance of "Sour Candy" while calling the piano segment of the special "powerful".