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Tony Bennett: What happened at the singer’s final show with Lady Gaga

The ‘Chromatica’ singer teamed up with the legendary crooner for his 95th birthday concert, which is part of their final lineup of performances in New York City

Nadja Sayej
Thursday 05 August 2021 19:28 BST
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Gaga and Tony Bennett

Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett, one of the most unlikely duos in pop music today, teamed up for a final string of shows at Radio City Music Hall in New York City as part of “two nights only to celebrate a decade of music and friendship”.

Last night, the duo took the stage together as part of their last string of shows for One Last Time: An Evening with Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga on Tuesday 3 August. Their final concert takes place tonight (Thursday 5 August). The concert has tickets still for sale ranging from $291 (£208) to as much as $1,547 (£1,110) per ticket.

Bennett, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016, performed a 30-minute set of songs including “Fly Me to the Moon” and “Steppin’ Out with My Baby”, without much talking in between.

The singer stood by a piano in the centre of the stage, saying only “thank you” and “wow” to the crowd, who reportedly gave him a standing ovation after nearly every song.

Lady Gaga opened for Bennett with a set that lasted an hour and a half. The singer had a costume mishap when her wig almost flew off while she was dancing.

She joked about the mishap saying: “things can only get better”.

Before performing the song, What a Difference a Day Makes, Gaga dedicated it to front-line doctors and nurses, telling the audience: “We all know we just went through at least a year and a half of Covid, and we’re still going”.

Bennett celebrated his 95th birthday on 3 August. The performances are being called “Bennett’s last NYC performances of his career, set appropriately at a venue that he has enjoyed a multi-decade run of sold-out shows”.

The performances were recorded for a forthcoming TV special. The duo will release their new album Love for Sale on 1 October.

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