Oscars producer Ricky Kirshner has detailed how they secured Lady Gaga for a last-minute performance at the ceremony.
While speaking to The Hollywood Reporter for an interview published on Monday, the Oscars executive producer revealed how the Shallow singer's performance came together despite them originally announcing she wouldn't be taking to the stage.
Gaga was not originally slated to perform at the Academy Awards on Sunday night because she didn't have time to rehearse a number while shooting Joker sequel Folie à Deux. However, she changed her mind in the days leading up to the show.
"Honestly, and this is not to pat ourselves on the back, because we're very bad at that, but we've built up trust in the relationship with Gaga over the years," Ricky told THR of the move. "I did the Super Bowl with her and Glenn (Weiss) has done many awards shows with her, including the Shallow performance (at) the (2019) Oscars."
The producer continued, "She really wanted to do something... She honestly was shooting her movie - there was no trickery involved."
Kirshner added, "And Thursday, at four-something, we got a text that she wanted to try something, didn't have time to put together a big performance, but wanted it to be raw and people to see the real Gaga, and, with a voice like that, you don't need much more than that."
Gaga wore no make-up, a black T-shirt and ripped jeans for her 2023 Oscars performance, at which she played Best Original Song nominee Hold My Hand, from the Top Gun: Maverick soundtrack.
Introducing the song, she told the audience, "It's deeply personal for me, and I think that we all need each other. We need a lot of love to walk through this life."
