The US music industry has had a strong presence at the ongoing 2020 Olympics. Jessica Springsteen, an elite equestrian and daughter of Bruce Springsteen, is competing at the games. John Legend was part of a group that covered John Lennon’s “Imagine” during the Opening Ceremony. It turns out that it almost went deeper than that, as Lady Gaga was apparently nearly involved in the Opening Ceremony as well.
It seems Gaga, who is known all over the world as her albums have gone No. 1 in dozens of countries, was close to making a Nintendo-themed cameo. According to Japanese publication Bunshun (as Stereogum notes), leaked documents from October 2020 describe a plan to have Gaga remotely disappear into a green warp pipe (from the Mario series) while wearing a red Mario hat. She would have then re-appeared through a different pipe in the Japanese arena, except instead of Gaga herself, it would have been Japanese comedian Naomi Watanabe (who is best known for her Beyonce impression).
The bit would have been similar to former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe’s appearance at the 2016 Olympics closing ceremony. By this spring, however, all mentions of Gaga were entirely removed from planning documents.
Meanwhile, Gaga has a couple of big shows on the horizon, as she and Tony Bennett are preparing for a pair of joint concerts at Radio City Music Hall in August.
