However, it seems that the pop singer is currently in strong agreement with her touring partner, as she humbly took on his classics with a restrained, flirtatious spin throughout their Cheek to Cheek concert, all for the sake of complementing — and never overpowering — the legend she's recently befriended.
Gaga never tried to upstage Bennett, often showing restraint and making sure to pay respect to the iconic crooner. That, and her confident performance, surely went over well with the older crowd in the audience, and could pay off in the future as she releases new albums.
Suddenly, she’s no longer the risque pop singer who pushes the boundaries for headline-grabbing sake, but the approachable talented young artist (she’s 28) who can stand alongside the best of them — and actually sound as they do in their songs when they perform live, something many pop artists struggle to do.
In their setlist Bennett and Gaga smartly held off on featuring too many duets during “Cheek to Cheek,” giving each of them equal time to shine with solo numbers. But the energy in the room always lit up once Gaga took the stage.
Then Bennett sings, really sings, at times so forcefully that in the rows closest to the stage you can hear that voice outside the microphone. When he takes it to a whisper, he feels as if he’s right in your ear.
Yes it was the ultimate in Las Vegas New Year’s symbolism. But people don’t pay up to $300 a ticket for symbolism.
So Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga also brought the chemistry. They play on the novelty of their pairing but also make it something valid in its own right, not an awkward shotgun marriage but a real one-of-a-kind celebration you couldn’t get from either of them separately.
While it was cool to see Gaga go old school, it would’ve been ever cooler to see Bennett go new. Beyond that one missed opportunity, it was an enchanting evening of American classics with that rich big-band sound. And perhaps, “The Best Is Yet to Come.”
