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According to the Recording Academy, Lady Gaga will pay tribute to iconic bisexual rocker David Bowie at the Grammys.
Gaga, whose work is often very Bowie-esque, is due to perform on 15 February, and had previously announced that the Haus of Gaga was partnering with Intel, aiming to create a show that would ‘showcase technology through creativity at the highest level’.
However, Grammys producer Ken Ehrlich apparently began to discuss the prospect of a Gaga tribute to the Thin White Duke after Bowie’s death in January.
‘We had already booked Lady Gaga on this year’s show, but when David passed — almost in a single moment — we knew we had to change direction,’ he said in an interview with The New York Times.
‘We immediately spoke and agreed that she should be the one to honor David. She’s perfect for it. So I reached out to Nile and, before long, we were on our way to creating what we believe will not only make a great Grammy Moment, but one befitting of David.’
Besides Lady Gaga, other acts have also apparently come forward to pay their own respects: ‘Some of whom might have made sense; the vast majority didn’t.’
The music director for the performance will be Chic’s Nile Rodgers, the producer on Bowie’s feted 1983 album Let’s Dance. Gaga is expected to cover three or four Bowie tracks as part of her tribute, although it’s unlikely the tribute will open the ceremony.
Gaga previously spoke to the Hollywood Reporter (in a podcast just prior to Bowie’s death) about Ziggy Stardust’s influence on her own look and sound.
‘I always felt that his glamour was something he was using to express a message to people that was very healing for their souls,’ she said. ‘[Bowie] 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.’
