By: Eleanor Liang
On Friday, July 21, 2023, Tony Bennett (an American singer) officially took his last breath and passed away. His partner, hit singer Lady Gaga, reveals her deep emotions about his death.“It’s a gift that I will hold in my heart till my last breath. My time with Tony has changed me forever,” she told USA. “Frank Sinatra said he was the best singer in the world, and I don’t think Frank lied.”
Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett held a special bond, and they inspired each other’s careers in many ways.
“Tony Bennett saved my life,” Lady Gaga declared to many interviewers and fans. Furthermore, according to CNN, Gaga told BBC Radio 2’s Zoe Ball in 2021,“Tony is one of my most favorite people on the whole planet, and I love him with all my heart. I can’t tell you how much I learned from him, and what it’s like to sing with a legend for so many years.”
According to CBC News, when Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga released their first album together in 2014, some may have found them an unlikely pair. However, the singers had gotten close and continued to create music as a duo, with Gaga even crediting Bennett, who died on Friday at age 96, with “saving” her.
“Six months ago I didn’t even want to sing anymore,” Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta during an interview with Bennett as they promoted their album “Cheek to Cheek.”
“I tell Tony everyday he saved my life,”said Lady Gaga.
According to CBC News, it appears the pressure of the music industry had gotten to Gaga, who released her album “Art Pop” the previous year.
“I’m not going to say any names, but people get irrational when it comes to money—with how they treat you, with what they expect from you,” she said. “But if you help an artist, it doesn’t give you the right, once the artist is big, to take advantage of them.”
“I was so sad. I couldn’t sleep. I felt dead,” she said. “And then I spent a lot of time with Tony. He wanted nothing but my friendship and my voice.”
“I understand,”said Bennett, squeezing her hand reassuringly.
“There’s nothing hipper than being talented at something you love, in having passion, and that is classic, and that is timeless,” Gaga said in 2015 to the Los Angeles Times.
At Bennett’s last live performance, he made Lady Gaga all emotional.
According to Independent.co.uk, the concert opened at Radio City on Bennett’s 95th birthday, during which he introduced Gaga mid-show by saying: “Woah, Lady Gaga!” Gaga twirled in her dress, with Bennett adding: “I like that, do it again.”
Gaga said: “That’s the first time that Tony said my name in a long 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. And it was very special.”
However, Gaga said that Bennett’s last concert wasn’t “a sad story”, but an “emotional” one.
“It’s hard to watch somebody change,” she said. “I think what’s been beautiful about this, and what’s been challenging, is to see how it affects him in some ways, but to see how it doesn’t affect his talent.”
“I think he really pushed through something to give the world the gift of knowing that things can change and you can still be magnificent.”
Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/21/arts/music/tony-bennett-lady-gaga.html
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-news/lady-gaga-tony-bennett-tribute-1235541069/