LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Lady Gaga will perform at two of February's most-watched events as she sings the national anthem at the Super Bowl and leads a tribute to David Bowie at the Grammys.
The National Football League announced that Lady Gaga would sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Super Bowl 50 on Sunday in San Francisco, where British rockers Coldplay will be the halftime entertainment.
The Super Bowl is often the most-watched television event each year in the United States, and the league generally seeks out non-controversial performers.
Lady Gaga has increasingly traded her ostentatious stage persona to focus on singing pop classics, performing duets with 89-year-old Tony Bennett.
Lady Gaga turns 30 next month and plans to release an album in 2016.
While the National Football League rarely picks artists known for controversy, their performances can draw intense scrutiny as when Christina Aguilera botched lyrics in the national anthem in 2011.
Lady Gaga was separately announced Tuesday as a performer at the Grammy Awards on February 15 where she will lead a tribute to Bowie.
Gaga will perform “a multisensory testament to the icon’s incredible artistry and a reflection of his limitless creativity,” the Recording Academy said in a statement.
The tribute will be directed by Nile Rodgers of Chic fame, a longtime friend of Bowie who produced his disco-infused 1983 album “Let‘s Dance.”
Bowie, one of the most influential figures in pop music history who invented glam rock before experimenting in soul, electronica and jazz, died on January 10 after a previously undisclosed battle with cancer.
Lady Gaga -- with her array of glittery costumes and sexual openness -- is one of many contemporary stars who claims artistic descent from Bowie.
Despite the wide respect for Bowie in the music world, the British artist won only one Grammy during his half-century career, which was for a video.
Bowie, who lived in New York but enjoyed more commercial success in Britain and other European countries, was also presented a Grammy lifetime achievement award in 2006.
This year’s Grammys, the biggest night in the US-based music industry, will also feature performances by superstar British ballad singer Adele as well as award nominees including rapper Kendrick Lamar, who is in the running in the most categories at 11.
