Lady Gaga’s microphone malfunctions during Coachella performance: ‘At least you know I’m singing live’

Lady Gaga experienced some technical difficulties during her Coachella 2025 performance on Friday night.

The “Bad Romance” singer’s live vocal feed cut out during her explosive rendition of her recent single “Abracadabra” at the beginning of her set during the second weekend of the mammoth music festival in Indio, Calif. 

Gaga began the number wearing what looked like a massive red hoop skirt that quickly opened to reveal a huge cage containing numerous backup dancers. Her feed cut out a few times during the song’s first verse, then continued without a hitch through the chorus. However, as the singer began to descend through the middle of the dress, the mic completely cut out, leaving only the instrumental track audible.

As she moved toward the floor, a crew member handed Gaga a handheld microphone to replace her faulty headset, but it didn’t fully switch on until the conclusion of the second verse. She proceeded to perform the rest of the song with the handheld mic and then put on another headset microphone for later songs.

Near the end of the set, Gaga moved to a secondary stage and sat at a piano to perform “Shallow,” from her movie A Star Is Born, and acknowledged the microphone debacle as she spoke to the audience.

“Thank you so much for singing and dancing all night long. I’m sorry my mic was broken for a second,” she said. “At least you know I sing live. And I guess all we can do is our best, right? I’m definitely giving you my best. I love you so much.”

Gaga’s gothic, gaudy set included several other songs from her latest album, Mayhem, including “Disease,” “Killah,” “Die With a Smile,” “How Bad Do You Want Me,” and “Vanish Into You.” She also performed older hits like “Poker Face,” “Born This Way,” “Paparazzi,” and “Alejandro.”

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This year’s festival marks the second year that the singer has headlined Coachella. She previously performed at the festival in 2017, just two months after her Super Bowl halftime show.

Gaga, who played double duty as the host and musical guest on Saturday Night Live last month, will soon embark on a world tour in support of Mayhem, which was released on March 7. The tour includes more than 50 shows in 2025 across 19 cities.

Coachella’s other 2025 headliners are Travis Scott, Green Day, and Post Malone. Other performers have included Megan Thee Stallion, Charli XCX, Missy Elliott, T-Pain, Marina, and Benson Boone.