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Lady Gaga Wipes Off Makeup for Oscars Performance of 'Hold My ...

Lady Gaga Wipes Off Makeup for Oscars Performance of Hold My
The artist wasn’t even set to take the stage. Instead she exchanged her initially glamorous look for a stripped-down one to suit her intense delivery.
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To Perform ‘Hold My Hand,’ Lady Gaga Goes au Naturel

The artist wasn’t even set to take the stage. Instead she exchanged her initially glamorous look for a stripped-down one to suit her intense delivery.

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A woman in a black T-shirt sings into a microphone with a man playing a guitar in the background.
Lady Gaga opting for a minimal look onstage.Credit...Todd Heisler/The New York Times
Sarah Bahr
  • March 12, 2023, 10:45 p.m. ET

After originally not even being set to perform, Lady Gaga made a big impression on Sunday night when she took the stage to sing the Oscar-nominated “Hold My Hand,” which she wrote with BloodPop for “Top Gun: Maverick.”

Her red carpet look? Heavy black makeup, bold red lipstick and a see-through black corset gown fresh from the runway.

Lady Gaga dressed to the nines before the show.Credit...Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet for The New York Times

But on the Dolby Theater stage? The bright red lipstick and heavy eye makeup had been wiped off, the gown exchanged for a black T-shirt and ripped jeans. All in all, it was a decidedly more natural look. She might have been unrecognizable if not for her hair, which was still in a French braid.

“It’s deeply personal for me,” she said before performing her song. “We need a lot of love to walk through this life, and we all need a hero sometimes. There’s heroes all around us in unassuming places, but you might find that you can be your own hero, even if you feel broken inside.”

This isn’t the first time Gaga has opted for a minimal makeup look. She took a stripped-down approach for a shoot for T: The New York Times Style Magazine in 2016, around the time she was recording her fifth studio album, “Joanne.”

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