Lady Gaga pays touching tribute to Tony Bennett in emotional Grammys performance: ‘We miss you’
Lady Gaga performs onstage during the 64th Annual Grammy Awards. (VALERIE MACON / AFP) (Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images)
Lady Gaga gave the performance of the night before winning big at the 2022 Grammys.
The singer received a standing ovation after performing a breathtaking tribute to her regular collaborator, Tony Bennett, at the Grammy Awards on Sunday evening (3 April).
Backed by a big band arrangement, Gaga belted out a version of Cole Porter’s “Love for Sale”, dedicating the song to Bennett.
“I love you, Tony,” she said, adding: “We miss you.”
Gaga and Bennett later won the Grammy for Traditional Pop Vocal Album for their 2021 collaboration, Love for Sale, a collection of Porter standards.
Bennett, 95, became the second-oldest winner of a Grammy Award.
The jazz powerhouse was absent from the Grammys, but offered a videotaped introduction for Lady Gaga’s performance.
He also appeared in touching video footage behind Gaga, as she slowed things down to sing an elegant, piano-filled version of “Do I Love You”.
(VALERIE MACON / AFP) (Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images)
In a statement to Variety released ahead of the ceremony, Bennett’s son Danny Bennett said: “Although the producers had invited both Tony and Gaga to perform in Sunday’s Grammys broadcast, it is unfortunate that due to his continuing struggle with Alzheimer’s, he was not able to accept.
“There is no doubt that she will offer an impeccable performance from Love for Sale, which is Tony’s final album. He will be cheering her on as he watches from his home in New York City.”
His wife, Susan, revealed he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease last year after he began showing symptoms in 2015.
“Life is a gift — even with Alzheimer’s,” the singer tweeted in 2021.
Bennett has won 20 Grammy awards across his sprawling career – the first was in 1963, taking home the honours for Record of the Year and Solo Vocal Performance.
In 2014 he and Gaga released their first album together, Cheek to Cheek, which also won the Grammy for Traditional Pop Vocal Album.
“He’s my friend. He’s my musical companion,” said Gaga at Bennett’s final concert before his retirement last year. “And he’s the greatest singer in the whole world.”
Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett were nominated for five awards at the 2022 Grammys, including Album and Record of the Year, the latter for their version of “I Get a Kick Out of You”.
