On Sunday, January 20, Lady Gaga kicked off her second Las Vegas residency Jazz & Piano at Park MGM resort’s Park Theater. 

The three-act show, which features stripped-down versions of the pop star’s greatest hits as well as classics pulled from the Great American Songbook by legendary singers ranging from favorite Gaga collaborator Tony Bennett to Dinah Washington, was said to have echoed throughout the theater, as if from the heavens. 

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“You know, it was just last night I was bent over in a thong singing some progressive pop,” Gaga told the audience at Sunday’s opening show, referencing her main Sin City residency Enigma, which launched three weeks ago and is a more traditional, high-energy pop music show.

The set for the Jazz & Piano show was complete with old-school booths for the show’s world-class 30-piece band and was illuminated by glowing mood-setting neon colors, with a curtain and backdrop comprised of numerous glistening, dangling crystals. This event, which is part of Gaga’s multiyear Vegas residency programming and was arranged to resemble a jazz hall of yesteryear. 

As for the setlist of Jazz & Piano, there was more of a mystery upfront than the greatest-hits lineup for Enigma. But a few of her 21st-century hits did make it into the setlist with new arrangements, including one for hit song “Born This Way,” which she sang alone at the piano in a sort of slow gospel instead of the original kicky and spiritual sound. She also worked “Paparazzi” into the mix by preceding with a sober speech and moved into “Poker Face,” by talking to the audience about the overall song. 

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“Just like many songwriters before me, people thought they knew what this song was about,” she began. “They were wrong… It’s when you’re with a man and you’re thinking about a woman — you gotta keep your poker face.” 

As for the other music a part of the set, she sang 16 vintage covers, opening with “Luck Be a Lady” and closing with “New York, New York.” During the show, Gaga also brought out surprise guest, Bennet, which whom she worked with on a duets album and toured with in the early part of this decade.

“You don’t mind if I walk him off, do you?” Gaga asked the crowd at the close of the pair’s two-song cameo. “Because it’s nice to just touch him.”

The six-time Grammy winner’s show Jazz & Piano has five shows left at the Park throughout the year, including dates, February 15, October 20 and 26, and November 3 and 9. Gaga is also concurrently running Enigma, which she is expected to extend into next year. 

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