Lady Gaga’s drones and halftime performance entrance were prerecorded

The “Million Reasons” singer had an astonishing entrance, complete with twinkling American flag and a daring plunge from the roof of the stadium. But she didn’t do it live.

Lady Gaga’s halftime show undoubtedly made the list of all-time great Super Bowl halftime show performances, what with her flawless delivery, unearthly acrobatics and subtle political message.

And while it doesn’t detract from her ultimate performance value, it’s noteworthy that the drone segment and the jump from the stadium roof were recorded in advance. It has less to do with her ability and more with safety requirements and technological constraints.

Intel, the company that supplied the drones, knew that exact precision was necessary for the American flag to be properly displayed. The shoot took place over several days, and had it all been attempted on Sunday night, the slightest change in weather could have disrupted the entire formation.

“When we talked about Super Bowl, the primary weather issue was if they closed the dome,” general drone manager Natalie Cheung said, in an interview with USA Today.

“If I had to simplify it, if you can do fireworks because of weather, so can our drones. … We’ve never had a situation where we can’t fly. The shooting star drone is water-resistant. It can handle light rain. It can handle a decent amount of wind — 8 meters per second, which is pretty decent wind speed.”

On top of potential weather constraints, restrictions put in place by the Federal Aviation Administration barred Gaga’s drones from flying within a close radius of the NRG Stadium the night of the Super Bowl. Crowd safety was the issue of concern, and specific rules forbid drones from doing acrobatic maneuvers above hundreds of thousands of people.

Next: Super Bowl 51: Where does Lady Gaga’s performance rank?

What did you think of Lady Gaga’s halftime show, and were you surprised to find out the drones weren’t flying live? Let us know in the comments!