Lady Gaga Roasted For Oscars Performance: “Girl, This Song Is From ‘Top Gun: Maverick’”

By Raven Brunner @raventbrunner
Published March 12, 2023, 11:15 p.m. ET

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While Lady Gaga didn’t take home the gold for Best Original Song, she did garner a few hilarious tweets for her Oscar performance. The singer took to the stage to perform an intimate rendition of “Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick, and many hopped on social media to remind her that it’s a song about a plane. 

The singer and actor was nominated for Best Original Song for her hit single, competing against Sofia Carson for “Applause” from Tell It Like a Woman, Rihanna for “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Kaala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj for “Naatu Naatu” from RRR, and Son Lux, Mitski, and David Bryne for “This Is A Life” from Everything, Everywhere All At Once.

While it is routine for Oscar nominated singers to perform their nominated songs during the ceremony, Gaga was originally set to sit this one out as she has been busy filming Joker: Folie à Deux. Earlier today, Variety reported that there has been a change in plans and Gaga would make an appearance. The outlet referred to the change as a “last-minute back-and-forth effort.” 

Gaga didn’t disappoint, but she did bring weird vibes to the star-studded ceremony. Viewers were quick to dismiss her emotional opening to the musical number, where she talked about how “deeply personal” the song is. “Lady Gaga giving an intro like this movie and song nearly broke her soul. Girl, it’s… it’s Top Gun,” tweeted one viewer.

Another wrote, “I love Lady Gaga but it’s kind of laughable to be like ‘I wrote this song for Top Gun Maverick, it’s super personal,’ like this movie is about Tom Cruise flying a plane, let’s get real.”

A third chimed in with, “Lady Gaga was once again like ‘I will only perform at the Oscars if it is filmed in the most uncomfortably intimate way possible’ and I love that about her.”

Despite the haters, the internet seems to collectively agree on one thing: It was a damn good performance. Gaga’s performance was stripped back, featuring up-close camera angles and minimal design. The singer performed the number while sitting on a stool, donning a tee shirt and ripped jeans with a no-makeup look. 

“I wrote this song with my friend BloodPop for the film Top Gun: Maverick in my studio basement. It’s deeply personal for me and I think we all need each other. We all need a lot of love to walk through this life,” said the singer as she introduced the number. “You can be your own hero, even if you feel broken inside.”

Tonight wasn’t Gaga’s first rodeo at the Academy Awards. She was previously nominated for Best Original Song category in 2016 and 2019, taking home the gold for “Shallow” from A Star is Born in the latter. Gaga was also nominated for Best Actress for the musical, which she starred in alongside Bradley Cooper.

Watch Lady Gaga’s full performance in the video above.