Lady Gaga drew an estimated 2.5 million fans last night (May 3) to a free show on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach, breaking Madonna’s record for the most-attended concert by a female artist in history set on at the same venue last year.
The set list hued closely to what Gaga performed last month at Coachella and at recent one-offs in Medico City, with 12 of the 14 songs from her hit album, MAUHEM, making the cut alongside older favorites such as “Shallow,” “Poker Face,” “Alejandro” and closer “Bad Romance.” The artist at one point wore a dress with the colors of the Brazilian flag.
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The day before, Gaga rehearsed on the beach in what became something of a bonus free concert, running through 13 of the show’s 21 tunes. “I missed you so much and I’m so happy to be back,” she said that night. “I know that this is just a rehearsal, but it feels like the real show.”
“Nothing could prepare me for the feeling I had during last night’s show — the absolute pride and joy I felt singing for the people of Brazil.,” Gaga wrote on Instagram. “The sight of the crowd during my opening songs took my breath away. Your heart shines so bright, your culture is so vibrant and special, I hope you know how grateful I am to have shared this historical moment with you. An estimated 2.5 million people came to see me sing, the biggest crowd for any woman in history.”
Meanwhile, this morning, Brazilian police said they’d foiled a planned bomb attack at the event, in which organizers attempted to recruit participants to “carry out coordinated attacks using improvised explosives and Molotov cocktails.” The alleged ringleader was arrested in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul for illegal possession of a firearm.
Gaga’s summer arena tour in support of MAYHEM begins July 16 in Las Vegas. The artist’s only other dates beforehand are May 18-19, 21 and 24 at National Stadium in Singapore.
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