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Tony Bennett introduces Lady Gaga ahead of her Grammys performance

Lady Gaga found a touching way to honor Bennett, who retired from performing last year.
Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga performs onstage during the 64th Annual Grammy Awards Sunday night.Rich Fury / Getty Images

Lady Gaga on Sunday night made a triumphant return to the Grammys stage as a performer for the first time since 2019.

The singer received a warm introduction in a prerecorded video from her collaborator and friend Tony Bennett, who retired from performing last year per doctors' orders.

"Hi, everyone, please welcome Lady Gaga," the 95-year-old legend said in the video before blowing a kiss to the camera.

Lady Gaga immediately burst into an energetic performance of "Love for Sale" from her Grammy-nominated collaborative album with Bennett of the same name. The singer, who donned a stunning satin strapless Tiffany blue dress, soon transitioned into the crooning track "Do I Love You."

As she sang, a montage video with touching footage of Lady Gaga and Bennett that depicted their close friendship and partnership through the years played out on a large screen behind her.

Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga honored her friend Tony Bennett during her Grammys performance.Valerie Macon / AFP - Getty Images

Lady Gaga ended her performance on a heartfelt note, saying, "I love you, Tony, we miss you."

Last year, Bennett’s family revealed that he has Alzheimer’s disease. His final performances took place during two sold-out shows at New York's Radio City Music Hall in August 2021 alongside Lady Gaga, which marked his 95th birthday.

At the 2015 Grammy Awards, Lady Gaga and Bennett performed a stunning duet of the title track of their first collaborative album, “Cheek to Cheek.”

Lady Gaga was a late addition to the 2022 Grammy performance lineup, which included the likes of BTS, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Silk Sonic, Lil Nas X with Jack Harlow, J Balvin, John Legend, Brandi Carlile, H.E.R., Jon Batiste and more. The Recording Academy tweeted the announcement on Friday, writing, “It’s giving… GAGA. You didn’t think we’d show up to Vegas without her did you?”

In addition to her showstopping performance, Lady Gaga and Bennett were nominated for five awards, which included an album of the year nod for their second and final collaborative album titled “Love for Sale” and record of the year for the song “I Get a Kick Out of You.” The beloved duo snagged the Grammy for best traditional pop vocal album early in the evening.

Before Sunday night, Lady Gaga's most recent Grammy performance took place in 2019 when she sang the hit song “Shallow” from “A Star Is Born,” a song which earned her two awards that evening alongside the best pop solo performance award for “Joanne (Where Do You Think You're Goin'?)”