Mother Monster goes heavy metal! Lady Gaga and Metallica powered through technical difficulties during a special duet at the 2017 Grammy Awards on Sunday, February 12. Watch a clip from the performance above!
The “John Wayne” singer and the heavy metal band came together to rock out to “Moth Into Flame,” the second single from Metallica’s 2016 album, Hardwired… to Self-Destruct. The high-energy performance started a bit shaky due to issues with lead vocalist James Hetfield‘s microphone, but quickly picked up as Gaga, 30, jammed out across the stage at Los Angeles’ Staples Center. At one point, she even jumped into the audience and briefly crowd-surfed.
Metallica first announced they were performing with Gaga (who got a Metallica-inspired tattoo ahead of Sunday’s show) in a post on the band’s website on Tuesday, February 7. “We promised you something unique for Grammy night and we are absolutely thrilled to confirm that Lady Gaga will be joining us on stage that night!” Metallica wrote.
The American Horror Story actress, meanwhile, teased the collaboration during an interview with Apple Music Beats 1 host Zane Lowe on Wednesday, February 8. “I saw them live recently, and we were watching the show, and I’ll tell you something, those guys play better than they’ve ever played in their whole lives,” she said.
Gaga’s duet with Metallica came a week after her spectacular, high-flying Super Bowl LI halftime show. She kicked off the 13-minute performance on the roof of Houston’s NRG Stadium — though it was later revealed that the roof stunt was prerecorded — before flying down to the main stage to deliver a medley of hit singles, including “Poker Face,” “Born This Way” and “Bad Romance.”
Metallica’s song “Hardwired” was nominated on Sunday night for Best Rock Song, but lost to the late David Bowie‘s “Blackstar.” Gaga’s latest album, Joanne, is not up for any awards as it was released after the deadline.