Oscars Producers Broke Down How Lady Gaga’s Powerful Last-Minute Performance Came Together

On Sunday (March 12), Lady Gaga did not walk away from the Oscars with the award for Best Original Song, but her surprise performance of the nominated track “Hold My Hand” was the talk amongst the viewing audience. When the singer arrived at the champagne carpet, she was dressed in a ’90s-inspired tailored black extreme drop waist Versace gown. The glamour continued as Gaga’s makeup was equally as bold.

However, once the singer took the stage to perform the song from Top Gun: Maverick, she went bare-faced and modestly dressed in a pair of ripped dark denim jeans and a plain t-shirt. This switch-up left fans confused, questioning if the set was filmed in advance. But thanks to an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the ceremony’s executive producers, Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner, more details have emerged.

When asked about Gaga’s decision to perform after they previously announced that she would be, Kirshner said, “Honestly, and this is not to pat ourselves on the back, because we’re very bad at that, but we’ve built up trust in the relationship with Gaga over the years — I did the Super Bowl with her and Glenn has done many awards shows with her, including the ‘Shallow’ performance on the Oscars.”

As for her decision to forgo a lavish set design and muted onstage appearance, Kirshner said, “She really wanted to do something. She honestly was shooting her movie [the Joker sequel] — there was no trickery involved. And Thursday, at four-something, we got a text that she wanted to try something, didn’t have time to put together a big performance, but wanted it to be raw and for people to see the real Gaga, and, with a voice like that, you don’t need much more than that.”

Watch Lady Gaga’s full performance of “Hold My Hand” below.