Lady Gaga Just Shared How Tony Bennett Reacted to Their Grammy Nominations
"Even with 60 years between us, and Alzheimer’s, there is nothing like the magic of music."
These two singers have a lot to celebrate. On Nov. 23, Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett landed six Grammy nominations for their second album, Love for Sale, which was released in September. Gaga and Bennett have been collaborating for years and released their first album, Cheek to Cheek, in 2014. But, in addition to working together as singers, the two artists also have a deep friendship that has been made all the more emotional by Bennett's Alzheimer's diagnosis.
In a message posted on her Instagram account on Tuesday, Gaga shared her gratitude for the Grammy nominations and also wrote about how Bennett reacted to the news. According to Gaga, even though it's hard for Bennett to comprehend things at times, he was able to understand that he and his music were being celebrated. Read on to see what the "Rain on Me" singer had to say about her friend and musical partner.
RELATED: Tony Bennett's Wife Reveals the First Sign He Had Alzheimer's.
Gaga and Bennett are nominated for six awards.
Gaga, Bennett, and those who worked on the album Love for Sale will be up for six Grammys when the awards ceremony takes place in January: Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, Best Engineered Album Non-Classical, and Best Music Video.
"I am stunned and shocked and beyond grateful," Gaga wrote on Instagram next to a photo of herself and Bennett. "I don't know what to say. I just keep crying and am utterly speechless. This means so much to me, @itstonybennett, the Bennetts, my family, jazz music, and the great Cole Porter who wrote all these timeless classics."
Gaga says Bennett understood what was happening.
In Gaga's message, she noted that Bennett was able to understand the news about the nominations. "I'll never forget today and congratulating Tony on his 6 nominations," the 35-year-old musician wrote. "I'll never forget that today he could track every word I was saying and understood the world was celebrating him and celebrating jazz – a genre that embodies the joy, abundance and imagination of Black music throughout history." She went on to thank the Grammys voters for recognizing jazz music in major categories where it tends to not be nominated.
She knows that music is what connects them.
"This album happened because it was Tony's idea and I made him a promise that we would make it and we did," Gaga continued on Instagram. "At 95 years old, he has more nominations than ever, I'm so honored to be his companion in music and his friend. Thank you to the public for loving us, we surely love each other, and you. Believe in love and partnership, even with 60 years between us, and Alzheimer's, there is nothing like the magic of music." She concluded, "I love you Tony, and the world loves you too. How could they not?"
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Gaga also spoke about the power of music in a new interview.
Gaga appeared on The Late Show on Nov. 23 and talked about making Love for Sale with Bennett. She said that after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's she wanted to keep good on her promise to record an album of Cole Porter covers with him, so she knew they needed to get to the studio. Of Bennett's reaction to music, she explained, "When jazz begins, this man lights up in a way that is such magic." She continued, "It just reminded me that anybody that has a family member or somebody that they love that's suffering from Alzheimer's or dementia, music is magic. Music is a miracle."
Bennett had to retire from a major aspect of his career.
In August, Bennett's son and manager, Danny Bennett, announced that his father had to retire from performing live on stage. His last show ended up being a concert with Lady Gaga in New York City in August 2021. "It's not the singing aspect but, rather, the traveling," Danny told Variety. "Look, he gets tired. The decision is being made that doing concerts now is just too much for him. We don't want him to fall on stage, for instance—something as simple as that. We're not worried about him being able to sing. We are worried, from a physical stand point… about human nature."
That said, like Gaga and Benedetto, Danny noted how powerful music is for his dad. Commenting on people who couldn't believe Bennett has Alzheimer's because he had still been able to perform, he said, "My answer is that this is where he has lived his whole life and where he is most happy—on the stage, making music." Danny added, "He has short-term memory loss. That, however, does not mean that he doesn't still have all this stored up inside of him. He doesn't use a Teleprompter. He never misses a line. He hits that stage, and goes. Tony may not remember every part of doing that show. But, when he stepped to the side of the stage, the first thing he told me was: 'I love being a singer.'"
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