How many people can say they made Sting cry by singing his own song to him!? Lady Gaga had that honour when she rocked the English icon’s Kennedy Center Honors with “If I Ever Lose My Faith in You”. Gaga delivered a passionate, electrifying performance on Sting’s ‘93 solo hit that had the star-studded crowd completely hypnotized. The big moment came just after the two-minute mark when Gaga shifted gears into the soft bridge. This hit Sting right in the chest and he got visibly teary-eyed.
In addition to nailing the emotional delivery of the song, Gaga really showed off her style by changing up the funk pop vibe of the original to a dynamic rock arrangement, expertly highlighting her powerhouse vocals. The Music Man has to agree with fans who said that nobody does tributes like Mother Monster, and that she truly made this classic song her own.
Fans couldn’t stop coming back to Gaga’s take on “If I Ever Lose My Faith in You,” racking up two million views on the YouTube upload. Fans added admiring comments such as “This is one of the greatest performances I have ever seen, from any artist. What a talent.” and “When she takes the song soft and brings the man himself to tears. Powerful!”
Mother Monster is best known for her huge collection of hits, but any time she does pay tribute to another artist, it’s always a special performance. One of the greatest Gaga tributes came when she performed John Lennon’s “Imagine” at the European Games Opening Ceremony in Baku, Azerbaijan. Twenty-five million viewers were spellbound by Gaga’s touching solo piano rendition of the timeless hit – and of course she did it totally in her own style.
The Music Man readers might be interested to hear that Lady Gaga and Sting go way back. Sting dropped in on Gaga’s appearance at iHeartRadio in 2011 to perform a duet on “Stand By Me.” It was clear even then the respect that the pair shared, as Gaga opened the performance with “Sting is one of my favourite people in the whole world.” She continued the story by saying that “When I started in this business I started to meet really amazing, incredible musicians, real legends. But they’re not always very nice. But Sting is one of the most kind and loving people I’ve ever met.”