Lady Gaga pays tribute to Tony Bennett at gig as she says 'he'll never be gone'
Lady Gaga paid tribute to her late pal Tony Bennett during the first night of her resumed Las Vegas residency this week, with her having shared that the "whole show was for [him]."
The singer-songwriter, 37, returned to the Dolby Live theatre at Park MGM for her Jazz & Piano show on Thursday. It comes just weeks after her late collaborator Tony passed away in July shortly before his 97th birthday.
The pair had worked together on the album Cheek to Cheek, which was released in 2014. They later reunited for follow-up album Love for Sale, released in 2021, which marks Tony's last album prior to his death earlier this year. The pair also toured together after working on their first collaboration.
Lady Gaga (right) paid tribute to late pal Tony Bennett (left), who died on July 21 (Getty Images for LN)Lady Gaga paid tribute to Tony during the opening night of her resumed Las Vegas residency this week. Clips of her discussing her late pal have been shared on social media by audience members.
She's heard saying: "The truth is, I didn't know exactly what to say about Tony, because this whole show was for Tony. Everything. The opening number, the middle numbers, all the diamonds, all the musical instruments, all the conducting, all the improvisation was in his memory".
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The Grammy Award winner - whose residency at the venue is scheduled to end in October - continued at the show: "But if I know Tony well, I know that he would be real mad at me for being sad, so I couldn't come out here and be sad."
She proceeded to sing Fly Me to the Moon, telling the audience at the event moments beforehand: "I sung this song while Tony was still alive and I'm gonna sing it now, even though he's gone, 'cause he'll never be gone."
The singer subsequently referenced Tony's widow Susan Benedetto. Lady Gaga was heard adding: "Susan, this is for you. [...] And I'm gonna get through it. I promise. And I'll never do it as well as Tony, but I'll try."
Lady Gaga paid tribute to Tony in a statement released shortly after his death in July. She said at the time: "I will miss my friend forever. I will miss singing with him, recording with him, talking with him, being on stage together."
She's performing her Jazz & Piano residency at the Dolby Live theatre at Park MGM on select dates until early October (Twitter / @johnnykats / @ladygagasourcex)She added she got to live her life in a "time warp" when she was working with him. "Tony & I had this magical power," she said, adding: "We transported ourselves to another era, modernized the music together, & gave it all new life as a singing duo. But it wasnt an act. Our relationship was very real.
"Sure he taught me about music, about showbiz life, but he also showed me how to keep my spirits high and my head screwed on straight. 'Straight ahead,' he'd say. He was an optimist, he believed in quality work AND quality life. Plus, there was the gratitude...Tony was always grateful. He served in WWII, marched with Martin Luther King Jr., and sang jazz with the greatest singers and players in the world."
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