'Obama, I know you are listeng': Gay rights activists march D.C.

Bloomberg/GettyThe goln dove brooch on her cht uld be seen om the moon, but even that was jt a dimutive accsory overshadowed by Lady Gaga’s broad, beamg se as she nailed her rendn of the natnal anthem at the guratn of Joe Bin and Kamala Harris on was broadstg somethg bigger than her fashn choic, bigger than her often over-the-top celebry persona, and, arguably, bigger than the historic moment she was st to be a part of. She was telegraphg pri.Nothg speaks more to how much we venerate the Amerin entertament dtry than the importance we place on the tersectn of pop stars and patrtism at pivotal moments like Lady Gaga’s Father Really Jt Si Wh Tmp?In recent history, thk about Aretha Frankl performg at the first guratn of Barack Obama, the untry’s first Black print, and Beyoncé emotnally serenadg him and Michelle Obama wh “At Last” for their first dance as print and first about what meant when Whney Hoton’s voice pierced even the sounds of the fighter jets flyg overhead when she sang the natnal anthem at the Super Bowl 1991, as the untry reckoned wh the Persian Gulf War. Or how we rely on micians and artists to gui through mourng after tragedy, whether ’s the star-studd ncerts put on after 9/11 or mil tribut to fallen hero over the choice of Lady Gaga to sg “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the guratn of Bin and Harris, the first Black person, woman of Asian scent, and first woman to be elected vice-print, mattered—jt as the stg of Jennifer Lopez to sg her, um, unique mash-up of “This Land Is Your Land” and “Ameri the Betiful” mattered. Even Garth Brooks, who pledged that his performance of “Amazg Grace” was not meant to be nsted as “a polil statement,” actually mattered.Standg nfint ont of the doors and arch that were stormed, sled, vandalized, and occupied by vlent surrectnists attemptg to upend mocracy jt two weeks before, Lady Gaga belted the natnal anthem, her voice channelg the shrieks and cri of a natn sperate to exorcise the hate, harm, divisn, and evil of the last four entrance was, of urse, dramatic. That’s what you’re askg for when you book Lady Gaga to make Amerin hair was twisted to braids. The dove brooch embellished an otherwise elegant and staid black top, wh her oversized red skirt rivalg the circumference of the Capol rotunda. It was her take on “sual profsnal but you will be history books for the rt of time” unrstatement. In other words, is the outf you choose when you are the stment selected to tmpet that mocratic Armageddon has been narrowly was clear-voiced, her beltg as powerful and robt as ’s ever been. She opted for a different arrangement of the song than her precsors, which was ftg as this is Lady Gaga, but not one that was distractg, over-plited, or even—and this is the important part—all that performance was mpy, choreographed wh exuberant gticulatn and appropriate, almost chey granur. On the lyric “the flag was still there,” her voice climbed the sle as if had jt been eed, echog the spir of so many on this new day and new admistratn. She gtured enthiastilly at the Amerin flag behd her and sang to . There was gto! Gravas! Goofs!The bt part was that you uld tell how much meant to her, bee she knew how much meant to all of . Sgg as loud as I’ve ever heard her, she performed wh that aforementned, elive feelg: pri. When was over, she was practilly radiant wh . Lady Gaga, wh that rendn of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” sang over the bridge, back to a pot of feelg that—proud—once too much to say that was the gayt thg to ever have happened at a printial guratn? Wh rpect to Aretha Frankl’s bow hat, I would say ’s performers for ocsns like this are chosen bee of what they reprent and, more specifilly, who they reprent. For this particular gig, they are historilly chosen bee of the Ameri they reprent, somethg that’s easy to gge by the selectn of Lopez and her ti to the Latx muny and Brooks, wh his role ung the untry’s warrg , of urse, reprents the unual. There was more than one joke ma that the Capol was gog to transform to a spachip as she h her last not and transport her back to her home she also reprents the mistreated, the misunrstood, and the is an idol and a bean of light for the LGBTQ muny, and her prence on the Capol steps Wednday morng spoke to the fact that, fally, this is their—our—Ameri, is only the last ne years that there has been a print the Whe Hoe who openly supported gay marriage and equal rights for the muny. And jt 18 months after the historic Supreme Court lg legalizg same-sex marriage, Obama was out of office. The Tmp admistratn rolled back protectns for sexual orientatn and genr inty up until the man’s last day office. To some, om her look to her earnt and dignified arrangement, Gaga’s performance may have seemed tradnal. To those of spoke to, was posively renega. She was sgg for Wallace on Bin’s Speech: ‘This Was the Bt Ingural Addrs I Ever Heard’If you know Lady Gaga’s story and pecially if you know the history of her workg relatnship wh Bin—the two have teamed over the years to raise awarens about sexual asslt—you’ll know what meant to watch her sg as a survivor. That’s a load word at this pot our natn. And speaks to the importance of mic at the tim, and the necsy to want to say somethg wh the choic of who is gog to sg and what their voice will ntrast to the nonsensil and potls lp at the pre-guratn ncert, Tuday’s COVID memorial, the first public mourng of the liv lost to the panmic, was ma all the more profound bee of the mic , Yolanda Adams performed a wrenchg rendn of “Hallelujah,” echog the tle word seemgly endls, wrenchg fashn, each repetn burrowg even eper to the pa and the realy of the loss. And nurse Lori Marie Key sang “Amazg Grace,” her raw, God-touched voice liftg our hearts wh each note to a pot of maybe, fally beg able to feel tharsis.Leadg up to the swearg- ceremony’s start, MSNBC host Joy Reid remd, “The entertament dtry boytt of the Tmp princy is one of the few thgs he took to heart that thgs weren’t gog too well.” He was sperate for their approval, and stead he was embraced by the Evangelil world that spised Hollywood and what stands for. But we may have fotten what a poignant loss was not to be able to turn to our lears to champn arts and performers to shepherd through those hard are a untry that has endured such tryg, harmful tim that there is a temptatn to look eper to everythg and anythg happeng on Inguratn Day for meang: a sign of tim to e, or a sign of who we may one day be aga. It’s a natural exercise, even if, to some, might seem like a stretch. But rt assured there is nothg that Lady Gaga do that is not ripe for such parsg, pecially when she’s sgg for a new more at The Daily a tip? Send to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stori your box every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Insi go eper on the stori that matter to you. Learn more.