Grammys 2022: How Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett Became Friends
At the 2022 Grammy awards, Lady Gaga sent a message of love to her friend and collaborator, Tony Bennett. Though the two are decades apart in age and rose to prominence for different music styles, they have formed a close friendship. She highlighted this at her 2022 performance, but the relationship stretches back long before this moment. So, how did Lady Gaga and Bennett become friends?
Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett have performed together multiple times
In 2011, Gaga teamed up with Bennett for the song “The Lady is a Tramp” on his 2011 album Duets II. The collaboration went over well, and the two have combined their musical strengths multiple times since. In 2014, they released the album Cheek to Cheek. The success prompted them to partner up again for 2022’s Love for Sale.
“The day we released ‘Cheek To Cheek’ in 2014, Tony Bennett called me and asked me if I wanted to record another album with him, this time celebrating the songs of Cole Porter,” Gaga said, per MTV. “I’m always honored to sing with my friend Tony, so of course I accepted the invitation.”
How did the two musicians become friends?
Clearly, the partnership is a successful one, but their friendship has deep roots. They first met in 2011, after Bennett was impressed by a Gaga performance at the Robin Hood Foundation charity gala. The organization works to alleviate poverty in New York City.
“When we were there, I sang a jazz song, ‘Orange Colored Sky,’” she said, per People. “Tony heard me sing it, and he asked to meet me after the show. And I said, ‘Oh my gosh! Tony Bennett’s here!’”
She was incredibly nervous about meeting with him, but the encounter was a fruitful one.
“I fixed my hair, and my mom was fixing her makeup, and then we went back to meet him,” she explained. “He said, ‘Do you want to do a jazz album together?’ And I said, ‘Yes, of course I do!’”
Since that first collaboration, the two musicians became so close that Gaga got a tattoo dedicated to Bennett.
“I asked Tony to draw me a trumpet, and he sketched me Miles Davis’s trumpet. Then I had it tattooed with his last name, Benedetto, underneath,” she said. “Just so I would always remember this time together.”
Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett won a Grammy in 2022
In 2022, Bennet and Gaga’s album Love for Sale was nominated for five Grammy awards. After a win for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, Bennett became the second-oldest Grammy winner ever. Gaga performed at the award ceremony. While Bennett could not join her, he welcomed her to the stage in a video clip. He also offered his support from his home in New York.
“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,” his manager Danny Bennett told Variety. “It was decided that it would be fitting for Lady Gaga to perform on her own to represent for both of them. There is no doubt, that she will offer up 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.”
