Lady Gaga's Olympics opening ceremony number was prerecorded 'for safety reasons'
Lady Gaga said "rain on me," and the Parisian weather listened.
In an interview with Variety published Sunday, Paris Olympics Director of Dance Maud Le Pladec revealed that when the 38-year-old popstar performed Zizi Jeanmaire's "Mon Truc En Plumes" during the Olympics opening ceremony Friday, it actually happened earlier than televised.
“Unfortunately, it was the only (performance) that, for safety reasons, we had to prerecord late in the afternoon, once we knew for sure that it was going to rain," Le Pladec said. "We had minute-by-minute updates; we had never watched the weather forecast so closely in our lives."
She added: "We assessed that it was going to be too dangerous for performers, even with a few drops of rain. (Gaga) wanted to do it absolutely, so we preferred to prerecord it rather than cancel it."
For her performance, Gaga sang and danced on a gilded staircase next to the Seine river with a crew of dancers wielding pink feathered pom poms. After taking a beat to show off her piano chops, she emerged wearing an ivory feathered tail attached to the back of her black bustier to finish off the routine.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
Lady Gaga avoided 'slippery' conditions at Olympics with pretaped performance
Le Pladec explained that the soil at the location of the performance "would have been slippery," and the wet conditions would not have been ideal for Gaga, who was wearing heels.
"We had to be extremely cautious,” she said.
After recording the number earlier than scheduled, Gaga watched it air from her dressing room as part of the four-hour opening ceremony, according to Le Pladec. She added that the singer's four-minute performance was the “most artistically challenging” number among the dozen that took place.
The venture involved props borrowed from the now-shuttered Parisian cabaret theater Le Lido, French-inspired choreography and custom costumes from French fashion house Dior.
Who's at the Olympics?Serena Williams, Nicole Kidman and more cheer on Simone Biles
Shortly after her set aired, Gaga wrote in an X post that she "wanted nothing more than to create a performance that would warm the heart of France, celebrate French art and music, and on such a momentous occasion, remind everyone of one of the most magical cities on Earth."
"Although I am not a French artist, I have always felt a very special connection with French people and singing French music," she said.
Le Pladec said Gaga “wanted to make a show à la Française," adding that she "puts so much effort and thought into everything she does" and "has a very developed creative process.”
Gaga, whose record "Chromatica" released in 2020, is expected to release her seventh album soon.
The "Bad Romance" singer also made headlines while in Paris by seemingly revealing her engagement to 46-year-old tech entrepreneur Michael Polansky. The revelation came via a TikTok posted by French Prime Minster Gabriel Attal, in which Gaga could be heard introducing her partner as her "fiancé."
