Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande finally give iconic Rain On Me performance at the VMAs and we’re well and truly drenched
Ariana Grande (L) and Lady Gaga perform during the 2020 MTV Video Music Award. (Kevin Winter/MTV VMAs 2020/Getty Images for MTV)
Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande, who several decades ago dropped their duet “Rain On Me“, came together for the first time on Sunday (30 August) for a live performance.
At the first fully-virtual 2020 MTV Video Music Awards, Gaga and Grande donned face coverings to bring Chromatica to life and please, please, there must be a way to leave this hunk of rock called Earth and move there.
Please?
Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande deliver dazzling ‘Rain On Me’ VMAs performance.
Back on this hellscape, the low orchestral tones of “Chromatica II” began. Showing Gaga, snug in a Chromatica throw blanket and wearing an LED face mask, staring at boxy television set in a dimly-lit room with a stripper pole and wow, what a weird series of words.
And no, you can’t buy the Chromatica blanket on her merch store. We already looked.
She’s watching a 1999 performance by comrade Britney Spears and N*Sync, but it’s quickly time to say bye-bye-bye to them both, as Gaga then hurls the blanket off, slides down the pole into a room of mannequins before a dancer reveals she’s on the VMA stage in New York City.
Pandemic pop queens Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande perform ‘Rain On Me’ that was broadcast to laptop screens worldwide amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Cindy Ord/Getty Images)
Gaga does a very animated jog and launches into “911” and, for a brief few seconds, all is well with the world.
In the nine-minute-long performance, Gaga does a condensed version of the song as she leaps into “Rain On Me” and Grande appears on the stage, wearing a black silk mask.
‘Stupid Love’ singer scores an award made entirely for her, a ‘Tricon’.
Oh right, there was an award show as well. Obviously, “Rain On Me” went onto score “Song of the Year” as well as “Best Collaboration” and “Best Cinematography”.
Gaga herself picked-up “Artist of the Year” and became the first recipient of the “MTV Tricon”, an award the music broadcaster basically invented for Gaga.
She’s an award-winning triple-icon for her talent in music, acting, fashion and activism, which is, er, four, things, but gays can’t count anyway. So it’s all good.
Bella Hadid, for some reason, presented her with the award and Gaga delivered an iconic (or should we say, tri-conic? quadri-conic?) speech.
? Couldn’t have received an award like this without everyone I love. Thank you for supporting and loving me. I love the world so much. https://t.co/Kfz0yepKs0
— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) August 31, 2020
“I truly never could’ve imagined that someday I would be given an award like this that honoured me for so many of my passions,” she said.
“I want to share this award with everybody at home tonight. Everybody at home that is their own form of a Tricon.
Gaga dedicated her win to Grande, saying: “Girl, this is for us.
“I feel like when we were in the studio together, we turned our tears that felt like endless rainfall into diamonds, and I will treasure those diamonds forever.”
She added: “I know a renaissance is coming, and the wrath of pop culture will inspire you and the rage of art will empower you as it responds to hardship with its generosity and love.”
I mean, sure, Gaga, we’ll try our best.
She concluded by stressing: “Wear a mask, it’s a sign of respect.”
