CNN: Gaga gave us a powerful gift

[PunkTheFunk 124,557]

Lady Gaga gave the world -- and me -- a powerful gift

By Douglas Heye

(CNN) After living through a year-plus without live music, fans showed up to Thursday night's concert with Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett, the second of two sold-out shows billed as "One Last Time" at New York's Radio City Music Hall, with palpable excitement.

[...]

The Great American Songbook is Bennett's wheelhouse. He has been singing those songs professionally for 80 years now, more and more in duet formats. In this context, a Bennett devotee might expect Lady Gaga to come off as more a curiosity than a duet partner. I admit that I did, and I was totally wrong. As Bennett has said about her, she is a jazz singer. A great one.

When you strip away some of her over-the-top costumes -- admittedly a tough thing for some of us to do -- it's clear she knows and respects the songs. Opening with "Luck Be a Lady" -- a nod to, well, herself -- and singing ballads such as "Someone to Watch Over Me" or the notoriously difficult "La Vie en Rose" (in French!), Lady Gaga pulled off what few other pop singers could.

But her performance and the still-surprising juxtaposition of her voice with pop music's elder statesman -- while a pleasure to listen to -- is not what made the evening so remarkable for me. It's that after so many months of suffering and isolation, the concert even happened at all -- especially since Bennett is struggling with Alzheimer's disease.

Lady Gaga's affection and respect for Bennett shone through the entire evening. Before he joined her, she heaped praise on him and told poignant stories of the impact he and his music had had on her.

When Bennett first took the stage, following Lady Gaga's bring-down-the-house-with-a-sing-a-long "New York, New York," I sensed the audience was nervous, as I was. Was Tony up to this? Would he remember the lyrics? What if something went wrong?

[...]

In spite of his fans' fears, Tony Bennett performed beautifully -- opening with "Watch What Happens," which we were all there to do, and any worries we had quickly went away. Sure, he missed a line or two and hovered next to the piano the entire show, but Bennett was in remarkable shape and still reaching for the high notes (and to still reach for the high notes at his age may be a metaphor for what all of us should aim for). Every song was met with ovations, and eyes often were not dry.

[...]

Taking the stage with him was a gift to Tony Bennett, and to all of us -- helping fans hear him again one last time, shower him with applause and say thank you. And for the rest of us, it was priceless to have a night of live music and seem normal again, even when we know normal is a long way off.

While Bennett has a handful of shows scheduled, this performance still seemed like a poignant goodbye to perhaps the longest career in show business. Tony Bennett is 95, Covid-19 is resurging, nothing is guaranteed.

Which made the night all the more extraordinary. A star of Lady Gaga's wattage doesn't need to give gifts like this, but she did. And I am grateful.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/09/opinions/lady-gaga-tony-bennett-covid-19-radio-city-heye/index.html

[VTV 12,873]

What a lovely article

[Lumiere 5,731]

i didn't read it but yes i agree

[SLAYing 3,136]

Word 💯,❤️🙏🏽

[Schwerk 7,274]

Lovely article but what's with the preconceived notions about her? It feel like every person writing a review about this has to point out they didn't expect Gaga to be a proper Jazz artist. Where have they been since 2015? 

"When you strip away some of her over-the-top costumes -- admittedly a tough thing for some of us to do"

It's nicely written and honest, but I can't fathom why it's so hard for people to see past someone's appearance and be so judgmental. 

I wish reviewers would stop pointing out these stale thoughts, it's getting old. She can sing jazz, it's a known fact, she won a grammy for it. Stop putting her in a wacky pop star box. 

 

[CyanDante 6,143]

10 minutes ago, Schwerk said:

Lovely article but what's with the preconceived notions about her? It feel like every person writing a review about this has to point out they didn't expect Gaga to be a proper Jazz artist. Where have they been since 2015? 

"When you strip away some of her over-the-top costumes -- admittedly a tough thing for some of us to do"

It's nicely written and honest, but I can't fathom why it's so hard for people to see past someone's appearance and be so judgmental. 

I wish reviewers would stop pointing out these stale thoughts, it's getting old. She can sing jazz, it's a known fact, she won a grammy for it. Stop putting her in a wacky pop star box. 

 

This is exactly how I felt while reading it  It would still make sense if this article came out during Cheek to Cheek's release. 

Even the part about La Vie En Rose, as if Gaga hasn't been belting that song perfectly for years now.

[Wixson 5,004]

1 hour ago, Schwerk said:

Lovely article but what's with the preconceived notions about her? It feel like every person writing a review about this has to point out they didn't expect Gaga to be a proper Jazz artist. Where have they been since 2015? 

"When you strip away some of her over-the-top costumes -- admittedly a tough thing for some of us to do"

It's nicely written and honest, but I can't fathom why it's so hard for people to see past someone's appearance and be so judgmental. 

I wish reviewers would stop pointing out these stale thoughts, it's getting old. She can sing jazz, it's a known fact, she won a grammy for it. Stop putting her in a wacky pop star box. 

 

Literally where/why I stopped reading the article. Not in the mood this morning. 

[Lilmonzter 2,864]

2 hours ago, Schwerk said:

Lovely article but what's with the preconceived notions about her? It feel like every person writing a review about this has to point out they didn't expect Gaga to be a proper Jazz artist. Where have they been since 2015? 

"When you strip away some of her over-the-top costumes -- admittedly a tough thing for some of us to do"

It's nicely written and honest, but I can't fathom why it's so hard for people to see past someone's appearance and be so judgmental. 

I wish reviewers would stop pointing out these stale thoughts, it's getting old. She can sing jazz, it's a known fact, she won a grammy for it. Stop putting her in a wacky pop star box. 

 

Exactly.

I thought we were way past this ideologue. 

[AsleepOnTheCeiling 6,479]

2 hours ago, Schwerk said:

Lovely article but what's with the preconceived notions about her? It feel like every person writing a review about this has to point out they didn't expect Gaga to be a proper Jazz artist. Where have they been since 2015? 

"When you strip away some of her over-the-top costumes -- admittedly a tough thing for some of us to do"

It's nicely written and honest, but I can't fathom why it's so hard for people to see past someone's appearance and be so judgmental. 

I wish reviewers would stop pointing out these stale thoughts, it's getting old. She can sing jazz, it's a known fact, she won a grammy for it. Stop putting her in a wacky pop star box. 

 

Because the article is written for the general public, not a Little Monster. Who outside the fandom and jazz fans know about Gaga doing a jazz album? 

[RenegAde 19,676]

Not yall finding something to complain about , 

[VoidTwo 259]

3 hours ago, Schwerk said:

Lovely article but what's with the preconceived notions about her? It feel like every person writing a review about this has to point out they didn't expect Gaga to be a proper Jazz artist. Where have they been since 2015? 

"When you strip away some of her over-the-top costumes -- admittedly a tough thing for some of us to do"

It's nicely written and honest, but I can't fathom why it's so hard for people to see past someone's appearance and be so judgmental. 

I wish reviewers would stop pointing out these stale thoughts, it's getting old. She can sing jazz, it's a known fact, she won a grammy for it. Stop putting her in a wacky pop star box. 

 

Right. My psychology book used her as an example of charisma and personality by saying she wore a meat dress and put an ugly picture of her dressed in chairs for MJH to point out how weird she is. And it was printed in 2019

[Bradley 59,271]

Yall get offended at the slightest thing 

[tyler k 5,330]

8 hours ago, justhislife said:

Because the article is written for the general public, not a Little Monster. Who outside the fandom and jazz fans know about Gaga doing a jazz album? 

the general public does know tho

[Nycboy 1,112]

12 hours ago, Schwerk said:

Lovely article but what's with the preconceived notions about her? It feel like every person writing a review about this has to point out they didn't expect Gaga to be a proper Jazz artist. Where have they been since 2015? 

"When you strip away some of her over-the-top costumes -- admittedly a tough thing for some of us to do"

It's nicely written and honest, but I can't fathom why it's so hard for people to see past someone's appearance and be so judgmental. 

I wish reviewers would stop pointing out these stale thoughts, it's getting old. She can sing jazz, it's a known fact, she won a grammy for it. Stop putting her in a wacky pop star box. 

 

I felt the same way after reading this! The writer is surprised Gaga can sing La Vie En Rose, let alone sing it in French?! It’s like… b*tch Gaga’s been singing it since 2015. Have you seen ASIB?! Even saying she “pulled off what few other pop singers could” is kinda rude… it’s not 2008 when all we knew Gaga for was a few pop songs. Even a random GP observer would know more than this. She’s a ****ing academy award nominated actress. She already won a Grammy with a Jazz record. Personally, I first realized that Gaga was way more than a pop star when I first heard Speechless back in 2009. Is this writer really 12 years late to the game? 😂 

[high culture 2,161]

The author obviously didn’t listen to Cheek to Cheek or see A Star Is Born if he is surprised by her singing jazz, especially la vie en rose. They should’ve sent someone a little better versed in music or at least done their research.