Lady Gaga to perform David Bowie tribute at Grammy Awards
Lady Gaga is to honor her idol David Bowie by performing a special tribute to the late rocker at the upcoming Grammy Awards.
The music legend, who passed away on 10 January (16) after a battle with cancer, is to be awarded the organization's Lifetime Achievement prize, and Grammy bosses have now confirmed Gaga will hit the stage for a special performance in his memory.
Grammy Awards producer Ken Ehrlich reveals the Poker Face singer
had already been asked to perform at the show, but they decided to
change her set into a Bowie tribute following his death.
"We had already booked Lady Gaga on this year's show, but when
David passed - almost in a single moment - we knew we had to change
direction," Ehrlich explains. "We immediately spoke and agreed that
she should be the one to honor David. She's perfect for it."
Gaga is to team up with Bowie's former collaborator, Nile Rodgers,
who will act as musical director for her tribute performance at the
awards show in Los Angeles on 15 February (16).
The singer is set to compete for a Grammy in the Best Song Written
For Visual Media category for her Oscar-nominated Diane Warren
collaboration Til It Happens To You, from documentary The Hunting
Ground.
Other performers at his year's (16) Grammys, which will be held at
the Staples Center in L.A., include Adele, Justin Bieber, Ellie
Goulding, Kendrick Lamar, Little Big Town, Carrie Underwood, and
The Weeknd.
Gaga previously spoke of her admiration for Bowie and credited him
with inspiring her pop career.
"When I fell in love with David Bowie, when I was living on the
Lower East Side (in New York City), I always felt that his glamour
was something he was using to express a message to people that was
very healing for their souls," she told The Hollywood Reporter. "He
is a true, true artist and I don't know if I ever went 'Oh, I'm
going to be that way like this,' or if I arrived upon it slowly,
realizing it was my calling and that's what drew me to him..."
The pop star went on to reveal what she learned from the music
legend, adding, "I just know that you can use the theater of your
imagination to entertain people beyond their wildest dreams and
then you can put something inside of that that changes the world,
and that to me is when you make something truly great as an
artist...
"You don't nail it every time. I definitely don't, with all my
songs, always hit that note. You try. And every once in a while,
the world lights on fire with the music."