It’s safe to say that without the influence of the late David Bowie–especially the early, glitter infused Glam Rock years–there would be no Lady Gaga. The singer/songwriter has long cited David Bowie as one of her main influences, and she thanks the singer in the liner notes for her breakthrough album “The Fame”–itself named for a classic Bowie song. And in those early poker-faced years, she was often photographed with a painted lightning bolt on her face, in tribute to the iconic singer. So it was no surprise that Gaga was asked pay tribute to Bowie at the 2016 Grammy Awards.
Teaming up with super producer Nile Rodgers–who produced Bowie’s most commercially successful album, 1983’s Let’s Dance–Gaga went through a medley of Bowie’s most iconic songs, starting with his first hit, 1969’s “Space Oddity.” From a visual standpoint, this was the coolest part of the tribute, simply for the inventive way projection mapping was used. Bowie’s famous red lightning bolt from Aladdin Sane and Ziggy Stardust’s “spiders from mars” all appeared on Gaga’s face.
From there, Gaga sang another nine songs from Bowie’s glory years, including “Changes,†“Ziggy Stardust,†“Suffragette City,†“Rebel Rebel,†“Fashion,†“Fame,†“Let’s Dance,†a quick beat of “Under Pressure,” and finally finishing off with an incredible version of  “Heroes.†The whole thing clocked in at a little over seven minutes, so it was really only snippets of songs which gave the whole thing kind of a Las Vegas act feel…but damn, what a Vegas act. It’s safe to say Gaga nailed it, and did David Bowie proud.
You can see the entire Gaga Grammy performance in the video below.
HT: Just Jared
IMAGE: Interscope Records
