Lady Gaga, 36, kicked off her Chromatica Ball tour on July 17 and has now made her way back to her hometown of New York City. She performed at MetLife Stadium on August 11, to a sold-out stadium of 55,000 Little Monsters. Gaga took a moment during her show to dedicate the song “Always Remember Us This Way” to her idol and colleague Tony Bennett, 96.
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During her show, Gaga emotionally said, “And even though things are different I feel so very blessed that his wonderful wife Susan is with him every day and even though Tony couldn’t be here tonight, Susan, I always want to remember us just like this.” Tony and his family publicly revealed that the legendary jazz singer is battling Alzheimer’s disease. Gaga and Tony have had a close friendship and have collaborated on multiple albums over the years.
The “Rain On Me” singer was also spotted in New York City earlier that day as she paid a visit to Tony’s private residence ahead of her show. Her MetLife Stadium show is one of Gaga’s biggest shows yet, which she acknowledged on her Instagram Story earlier that day. Gaga wrote, “WOKE UP IN THE PARKING LOT #STADIUMTOUR SOLD OUT IN MY HOME NYC 55,000” It seems that Gaga went to get a quick pep talk from her favorite jazz singer ahead of her legendary performance.
Tony celebrated a milestone birthday on August 3, as he turned 96 years old. He and Gaga released their album Love For Sale, together back in September 2021, making it Tony’s final musical project. The two also performed live together for a final time at Radio City Music Hall last August. In 2014, Gaga and Tony released their first album together titled Cheek to Cheek, in which they also toured.
Gaga’s dedication to him at the Chromatica Ball on Thursday is a touching moment for her, as she celebrates her dear friend and their years of collaboration. Last fall, Gaga appeared on 60 Minutes to discuss her Radio City Hall performance with the legendary singer. Tony said her name as he introduced her on stage and it made Gaga emotional. “That’s the first time that Tony said my name in a long time,” she said at the time. “I had to keep it together because we had a sold-out show and I have a job to do. But I’ll tell you when I walked out on that stage and he said, ‘It’s Lady Gaga,’ my friend saw me. It was very special.”