I’ve been one of Lady Gaga’s so-called Monsters since she hit the music scene, but I have to say that this current iteration of Lady Gaga is the one that I’m enjoying the most. Not that I didn’t love the meat dress or the lobster outfit, but Lady Gaga is really showing off her vocal chops and her musical ability with this classier, Tony Bennett-loving angle. I mean, she’s at the Oscars. And not only is she nominated for Best Original Song for “Til It Happens To You” from The Hunting Ground, Lady Gaga is performing the song at the Oscars. On top of that, Lady Gaga cried during her Oscars performance, which made a beautiful moment even more powerful.
Some background on the tune. Lady Gaga wrote it with Diane Warren, the legendary songwriter behind songs like Toni Braxton’s “Un-Break My Heart,” Cher’s “If I Could Turn Back Time,” and Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing.” Both women are heroes, and their song perfectly scored the aching drama in The Hunting Ground, which is about victims of sexual assaults on college campuses in the United States. According to CNN, this movie is so important that Joe Biden opted to introduce Lady Gaga to help bring further awareness to college sexual assaults. It’s a big deal, and it’s an even bigger deal that Lady Gaga performed it at the Academy Awards.
It was such a stripped, down real performance. It started with just Lady Gaga (looking smashing in a white pantsuit and the Veronica Lake-esque hairdo she's been favoring lately) and a piano before morphing into a gorgeous symphonic accompaniment. Because the music was so simple, Lady Gaga was able to really hone in on the message of the song — that sexual assault on college campuses is unacceptable, and that we must raise awareness and stop this pervasive issue. She was then joined by 50 or so real-life survivors of sexual assault on stage.
It was so impactful, and Lady Gaga got the standing ovation that she definitely deserved. Whether or not she'll win the Oscar is to be determined, but Lady Gaga certainly won with her messages at the 2016 Oscars.
