Following the news that she will not be able to perform live at the 95th Academy Awards, due to scheduling conflicts, Lady Gaga surprises everyone with her breathtaking and stripped-down performance of the Oscar-nominated song “Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick.
Glenn Weiss, the showrunner of the Academy Awards, said: “She was really appropriate about the fact that this is a meaningful song to her and she wanted to really strip it down and do it not as an ‘Oscar performance.’” The 36-year-old actress and singer “wanted it to be raw,” and that’s exactly what the team tried to capture.
On Sunday, hours before the show, it was reported that Gaga will in fact be performing. She walked the red carpet looking enchanting in a beautiful black Versace dress. Executive producer Ricky Kirshner revealed this about the star, who is currently filming the Joker sequel Folie à Deux, “She really wanted to do something. She honestly was shooting her movie — there was no trickery involved.”
Kirshner explained that they have “built up trust in the relationship with Gaga over the years.” He added: “… Thursday, at 4-something, we got a text that she wanted to try something, didn’t have time to put together a big performance. But wanted it to be raw and people to see the real Gaga, and, with a voice like that, you don’t need much more than that.”
Gaga addressed the audience, saying: “I think that we all need each other. We need a lot of love to walk through this life. We all need a hero sometimes — there’s heroes all around us in unassuming places. But, you might find that you could be your own hero even if you feel broken inside,” She went for a makeup-free look, wearing a black T-shirt, ripped jeans, and sneakers.
Ultimately, “Naatu Naatu” from Indian entry RRR, won Best Original Song beating fellow nominees: Rihanna’s “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Diane Warren’s “Applause” from Tell It Like a Woman and “This Is a Life” by Son Lux, Mitski and David Byrne from Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Watch Lady Gaga Perform “Hold My Hand” At the Oscars:
