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Lady Gaga seems to bring up one of two responses in people. Either you think she's incredibly talented, or you think she's just a character, a larger-than-life, over-the-top, brilliant marketer who gets people to overlook her voice with her bizarre antics. If you're in camp number two, get ready to cry uncle. Tony Bennett has followed up the release of his Amy Winehouse duet with a Gaga feature, and it's completely antic-free.
The video currently circulating for the new and Gaga-improved version of "The Lady Is a Tramp" features only a still picture of the crooner and the lady. Aside from some light blue hair dye, she looks, well, normal. But the real power of the video is her voice.
Testing her pipes on the old Rodgers and Hart standby, Gaga sounds as good, if not better, than the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Shirley Bassey, icons who helped make the song famous. And you have to listen to her. With only the still image, there's no choice. She's come out from behind the character to just be Stefani Germanotta, the woman or, dare I say it, the lady!
She's not hiding behind an egg or meat dress. She's not distracting you by tottering around on some penis heels. She's forced to present her voice to tell the story, and match the power of Bennett's to boot. And she does it ... and how. As Bennett said, "When she went into it, bam, the thing, it just took off." He called her a magnificent performer but made a point to also say, "She does know how to sing, and she does know how to play the piano. She sings very, very well."
So take a listen and see if you agree -- will this settle once and for all what powers Lady Gaga's popularity?
See this video on The Stir by CafeMom.
Image via YouTube
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