Lady Gaga performing at The O2 on the first night of her Mayhem Ball tour's UK leg

For an artist who has done everything from suspending herself from the ceiling covered in blood at the VMAs, emerging from an egg at the Grammys and getting the whole world to collectively hold its breath at the Oscars, Lady Gaga is still somehow managing to outdo herself when it comes to her live performances.

On Monday night, the award-winning singer-songwriter finally brought her Mayhem Ball tour to the UK for the first of four sold-out shows at London’s O2 Arena (after which she’ll also take it to Manchester’s new Co-Op Live for two more shows).

The concert effectively serves as a victory lap after a triumphant year that’s seen Gaga back dominating the charts, landing some of the best reviews of her career, headlining one of the world’s biggest festivals, setting new records with her live performances and even making a cameo in one of the world’s most talked-about shows.

It also manages to cram everything that has made her one of the most enigmatic and revered performers of the last 20 years into one fast-paced and action-packed two-and-a-half-hour set.

Some fans may recognise most of the show from Gaga’s much-celebrated Coachella set from earlier this year, but it’s also been made bigger and better for arenas, weaving in new songs and set pieces into the mix to help bring the Mayhem album to life, alongside countless hits and some deeper cuts from earlier in her career that feel as familiar as anything else in the set.

Lady Gaga embraces her past, present and, indeed, future in her Mayhem Ball tour

Anyone who’s followed Gaga’s career will know........

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