Silke Jasso
Lady Gaga is the talk of the town! The singer decided to go for a back-to-basics look during her performance of “Hold My Hand” at the 2023 Oscars, opting for a stripped-down look to deliver a powerful rendition of the Top Gun: Maverick track.
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The song was nominated for Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song), one of six nods for the Tom Cruise-led film, including Best Picture.
Putting aside her bold red carpet appearance in a revealing gown, for her performance she was seen wearing a black T-shirt, ripped jeans, and sneakers, topped off with a makeup-free face and a French braid updo. Before belting out the emotional ballad, the Grammy-winning singer-actress shared a touching message about the importance of community and love.
“It’s deeply personal for me,” she stated. “I think that we all need each other. We need a lot of love to walk through this life. We all need a hero sometimes — there’s heroes all around us in unassuming places. But, you might find that you could be your own hero even if you feel broken inside.”
Lady Gaga Performs ‘Hold My Hand’ at Oscars 2023
Gaga’s low-key natural appearance during her Oscars performance was a striking difference from her high-glamour red carpet look. Prior to the ceremony, she turned heads wearing a Versace gown that was previously worn by Gigi Hadid during the label’s Fall/Winter 2023 runway show in LA.
The gown had a mesh long-sleeve bodice with corset panels that flowed into a full low-waisted skirt, which revealed her back. Completing her red carpet ensemble, Gaga wore a sleek updo, a diamond collar necklace, a glossy red lip, and a smoky eye.
Gaga has been recognized by the Academy a total of four times fourth times, her recent one being for “Hold My Hand.” Although she didn’t win the Oscar this year, she previously won in the same category in 2019 for “Shallow,” which was part of her 2018 movie, A Star Is Born, alongside Bradley Cooper.
Gaga initially wasn’t set to perform “Hold My Hand” during the Oscars ceremony due to a scheduling conflict arising from her involvement in the upcoming Joker sequel, Folie à Deux, according to Oscars producer Glenn Weiss during a press conference.
Gaga At The Red Carpet
“We have great relationships with Lady Gaga and her camp [but] she’s in the middle of shooting a movie right now, and here we are honoring the movie industry and what it takes to make a movie,” Weiss stated. “After a bunch of back and forth, it didn’t feel like she can get a performance to the caliber that we’re used to with her, that she’s used to and all that stuff.”
“So she is not going to perform on the show. However, this is all from our point of view about someone making a movie, and us completely understanding that that’s what is priority in this business, especially when we are honoring movies,” he continued.
But, several outlets confirmed hours ahead of the ceremony that Gaga would, in fact, take the stage at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles to perform.”
