“You don’t just attend Gaga,” Tatiana Leiva, a lifelong Lady Gaga fan, said beneath the glow of the Kia Forum lights on the first of three nights of the Mayhem Tour. “You become part of it.”
Long before Lady Gaga took the stage for her nearly two-and-a-half-hour spectacle, the transformation was already happening outside the Inglewood venue.
Leiva arrived in a powder-blue strapless dress with cascading ruffles and fire-red heels, her re-creation of the custom sky-blue gown Gaga wore during this year’s Super Bowl halftime show alongside Bad Bunny. For Leiva, who is Puerto Rican and now lives in Houston after growing up in Downey, the look wasn’t just about fashion.
“There was no other option,” she said, laughing as fans stopped her with compliments and emotional reactions. “When I watched the Super Bowl, I cried. I screamed. I was dancing in my pajamas.”
Her mother filmed that reaction — jumping up and down in front of the television — a moment she said reflected what many Latinos felt seeing that cultural tribute unfold on one of the world’s largest stages.
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Houston-based fan Tatiana Leiva poses in her recreation of Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl halftime gown outside the Kia Forum on opening night of the Mayhem Tour.
(Photo by Holly Alvarado)
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Houston-based fan Tatiana Leiva poses in her recreation of Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl halftime gown outside the Kia Forum on opening night of the Mayhem Tour.
(Photo by Holly Alvarado)
Leiva and her best friend, both flight attendants for United Airlines, flew in from Houston just for the show and were scheduled to return the next morning, saying the quick trip was the perfect way to spend the evening. She pieced the outfit together online, determined to honor a performance that made her feel seen.
“It’s important to see ourselves represented like that,” she said. “Gaga supports our community in so many ways.”
If Leiva’s sky-blue homage shimmered in pride, the broader mood outside the arena leaned into shadow.
Black dominated the plaza, with leather, mesh, gloves, chains and platform boots reflecting the gothic, red-and-black palette of the “Mayhem” era. Nearly every fan seemed dressed in the tour’s darkness.
Sisters Karen and Tarot Sparza stood in coordinated black looks beneath the red marquee. “She raised us,” one said. “We’ve been ‘Little Monsters’ since we were in elementary school.” For them, Gaga was part of their coming of age.
“She made us feel safe,” Tarot Sparza said, as her sister agreed. “Being here feels like family.” They glanced around at the sea of fans gathering at the doors.
“I don’t think anyone here just casually likes Gaga,” one added. “We’ve all been here for years. We’re die-hard.”
Inside, the devotion was matched by spectacle.
Structured in theatrical acts — “Of Velvet and Vice,” “And She Fell Into a Gothic Dream,” “The Beautiful Nightmare That Knows Her Name” and more — the show unfolded like a Broadway production staged at arena scale. Operatic intros bled into hits like “Poker Face,” “Born This Way” and “Bad Romance.” Extended orchestral arrangements, dramatic transitions and choreography turned the nearly three-hour performance into something closer to gothic pop theater than a standard concert.
And to fans’ surpise, it was also being filmed, adding another layer of excitement to the night. After “Zombieboy,” Gaga paused midshow. “Hi, can you hear me? It’s Gaga,” she called out from the center of the stage. “I missed my cue, so we’re going to take it back 30 seconds if that’s OK.”
The crowd erupted in cheers, chanting her name as she reset. Earlier, she’d joked about possibly needing to redo a song to get it right. When she mentioned needing pins for her hat, she walked off stage laughing as fans screamed encouragement.
The imperfection only made the moment feel more communal and less distant, a more shared experience. Throughout the night, she returned repeatedly to that theme.
“Where’s the queer community? This is for you,” she said at one point, dedicating ‘Born This Way.’ “You are so beautiful, to us, to the world. You don’t need to hear me say how special you are. You already know.”
Before singing “The Edge of Glory,” she told fans, “You always taught me to be exactly who I am.” Later, she reflected on the longevity of her own career and the fans who have followed.
“Some of you have been coming to see me for almost 20 years, is that true?” she asked. “You’ve shown up for me no matter what I was doing.” Then she added a quieter confession. “I used to be a girl in school where no one would come to my party — and now you are all here at this party. So thank you.”
Midway through the set, after an alternate version of “Shallow” from “A Star Is Born,” Gaga sat alone at her piano in the center of the stage. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked out at the arena. “It’s so beautiful to look at all of you,” she said. “You invited us into your community everywhere we go, and it’s our community, and we feel really grateful to have one.”
For fans like Leiva and the Sparza sisters, that gratitude was reciprocal. As the night drew to a close and Gaga stepped into the crowd to sign vinyl records, posters and magazines, the line between performer and audience blurred once again.
The “Mayhem” tour may be built on darkness, drama and spectacle but inside the Forum, the prevailing theme wasn’t chaos.
It was community, and at the core of what Gaga represents, it always has been.
And for many in attendance, that community has been growing for nearly two decades.
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