The Tribune

By CARA BETHEL

cbrennen@tribunemedia.net

“TONIGHT is all about the classics and singing in Paradise,” Lady Gaga told an almost sold-out Imperial Ballroom at Atlantis on Saturday evening.

The dynamic diva joined legendary crooner Tony Bennett for an unforgettable one-night concert at the resort that audience members described as magical perfection.

“It’s so beautiful here,” the 29-year-old kept gushing. “Heaven, I’m in heaven,” the star said, quoting from the pair’s hit song.

The couple performed selections from their Cheek to Cheek album as part of their worldwide tour and the Atlantis Live Summer Concert series.

Cheek to Cheek consists of jazz standards by popular composers such as George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern and Irving Berlin. The album was inspired by Bennett and Gaga’s desire to introduce these types of songs to a younger generation, since they believed the tracks had universal appeal.

And at 88, Mr Bennett showed exactly why he has remained relevant and one of the most-loved entertainers of all time, belting out signature tunes and dancing all night with absolutely no signs of fatigue, especially when you consider that a bad case of the flu had caused the star to cancel a performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London just four days earlier.

But on Saturday night, he was in fine form, singing while clad in his signature ivory tuxedo jacket and backed by an incredible jazz orchestra and accompanied by Gaga. The Cheek to Cheek tour showcases Lady Gaga in a whole new light from her Bad Romance and Fame Monster persona. No doubt about it, the girl can sing and she was born to sing jazz.

While she definitely showed a softer side, the singer did not disappoint her fans, who loved her outlandish costumes. During the 90-minute set, she changed often from silver sequins to a risqué barely-there red jumpsuit, to a Marilyn Munroe-esque pink bowed dress to a lamé jumpsuit. “Now that’s the Gaga we came to see,” said one fan.

If I had to chose a favourite Bennett song, it would have to be his rendition of one of my favourite songs, Smile, and Gaga gave goosebump-inducing versions of Nature Boy, Lush Life and La Vie En Rose.

For more music and entertainment, see the Weekend section today.