Tony Bennett won’t perform with Lady Gaga at the Grammys, but will cheer for here ( Photo Credit – Tony Bennett / Facebook )
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Singer Tony Bennett, whose duets album with Lady Gaga is up for five Grammys, has confirmed that he will not be performing with her at the show on Sunday night.
Gaga was announced as a performer this morning; the pair are up for two of the top categories, Record of the Year and Album of the Year, for the song ‘I Get a Kick Out of You’ and the album it comes from, ‘Love for Sale’, reports ‘Variety’.
Danny Bennett, Tony’s son and longtime manager, says in a statement to ‘Variety’: “Tony is beyond thrilled, particularly at the young age of 95, to once again be recognised along with his musical collaborator and dear friend Lady Gaga by the Recording Academy for their album ‘Love for Sale’.
“To have the album nominated in six categories including Album of the Year and Record of the Year is an incredible honour. 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.
“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.”
The album is the second collection of duets from the pair, who performed a song from the first, ‘Cheek to Cheek’, on the Grammys in 2014. Bennett played two concerts with Gaga at New York’s Radio City Music Hall in August that was broadcast on ‘One Last Time: An Evening With Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga’ last year.
Gaga joins a lineup that includes Olivia Rodrigo, BTS, Billie Eilish, Silk Sonic, Brandi Carlile, Lil Nas X with Jack Harlow, Jon Batiste, John Legend, Carrie Underwood, J Balvin with Maria Becerra, H.E.R., Nas, Chris Stapleton, Brothers Osborne, and a special In Memoriam performance featuring songs of Stephen Sondheim by Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr., Ben Platt and Rachel Zegler. The show will also have a special tribute to Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died at the age of 50 last week while the band was on tour in South America.
The show will also highlight three musical genres — gospel/Christian, tropical Latin and bluegrass — that are not traditionally part of the show, presumably as bumpers leading into commercial breaks. The list of artists set to appear in that format are Maverick City Music, Aymee Nuviola and Billy Strings, respectively. Maverick City Music is nominated in the gospel and Christian music categories.
Nuviola is up for tropical Latin album, while Strings is a contender for American roots and bluegrass album honours.
