Lady Gaga is set to perform a tribute to David Bowie at the Grammy awards, the show organizers announced on Tuesday.
Gaga had been booked to perform during the show before Bowie died last month, Grammy producer Ken Ehrlich told the New York Times. But when news of the legendary artist’s death broke, Ehrlich began discussing a possible tribute with Gaga and her manager.
Several other artists approached Ehrlich about participating in the tribute, but he said he decided to have Gaga – whose style and music were influenced by Bowie – perform solo.
In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter conducted shortly before Bowie’s death, Gaga spoke fondly about the artist.
“When I fell in love with David Bowie, when I was living on the Lower East Side, I always felt that his glamor was something he was using to express a message to people that was very healing for their souls,” she said. “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.”
Gaga’s performance will not open the Grammys but will probably last six or seven minutes and cover “at least three or four” songs, Ehrlich said.
The tribute, Ehrlich said, will “be a true homage to who David was, particularly musically, but not ignoring his influence on fashion and pop culture in a broader way”.
The musical director of the performance will be Nile Rodgers, who produced Bowie’s albums Let’s Dance and Black Tie, White Noise and described him as “the Picasso of rock”.
