Tour by Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga | |||||||||||||
Location |
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Associated album | Cheek to Cheek | ||||||||||||
Start date | December 30, 2014 | ||||||||||||
End date | August 1, 2015 | ||||||||||||
Legs | 5 | ||||||||||||
No. of shows | 36 | ||||||||||||
Box office | US $15.3 million ($19.69 million in 2023 dollars) [1] | ||||||||||||
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The Cheek to Cheek Tour was a co-headlining tour by American singers Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga in support of their album, Cheek to Cheek (2014). Serving as Bennett's final tour, it began with a two-night run at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, and comprised a total of 36 shows across Europe and North America during the first half of 2015. Many of the tour's shows were part of music festivals, such as the Ravinia Festival, the Copenhagen Jazz Festival, the North Sea Jazz Festival, and the Gent Jazz Festival. The Cheek to Cheek Tour grossed $15.3 million from 27 shows with a total attendance of 176,267.
In September 2012, American jazz singer Tony Bennett confirmed to Rolling Stone that he would record and release a jazz album with singer Lady Gaga. [2] On July 29, 2014, the duo appeared on Today to formally announce their collaboration, titled Cheek to Cheek , with the release date in the United States as September 23, 2014. [3] Following the announcement of the release, a mini concert was held at the Rose Theater of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Titled Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga: Cheek to Cheek Live! , the concert aired on PBS on October 24, 2014, and a DVD of the performance was released on January 20, 2015. [4] [5] In the meantime, Gaga also finished her world tour, ArtRave: The Artpop Ball in support of her third studio album Artpop (2013); the tour ended on November 24, 2014. [6]
After promoting Cheek to Cheek through multiple avenues like television appearances, live performances, advertisements and campaigns, Bennett confirmed that he and Gaga would tour jazz festivals in 2015, supporting the album. [7] According to him, Gaga was tired from playing bigger venues, and wanted to have the tour visit smaller arenas. Bennett also explained that he was accustomed to playing in acoustic music halls and outdoor theaters, so Gaga had been looking at such options. [8]
On New Year's Eve 2014, the duo started the Cheek to Cheek Tour by performing at the Cosmopolitan Casino of Las Vegas. [9] They also performed at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards and its scheduled a post-Grammy concert on February 8, 2015, at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles, just after the conclusion of the ceremony. [10] [11] More shows were scheduled in 2015, including Hollywood Bowl on May 30; the Royal Albert Hall in London on June 8; and Radio City Music Hall in New York City on June 19. [12] Many of the tour's shows were part of music festivals, such as the Ravinia Festival, the Copenhagen Jazz Festival, the North Sea Jazz Festival, and the Gent Jazz Festival. [13] Besides the shows scheduled, the duo also performed at a fundraiser in support of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign at the Plaza Hotel in New York. [14]
For the show, the stage was decorated in a simple manner with just a crystal curtain. [15] Gaga continued with the dresses from the PBS special, with some changes during the tour. Her dress designer, Brandon Maxwell, [16] explained that he and his team did the wardrobe for the dancers and Gaga. They first took references from director Robert Wilson regarding the set and lighting designs. The team then started with eight full racks of clothing, between 200 and 300 dresses, and afterwards zeroed in on eight costumes for the show, along with its accessories. Designers used for the costumes include Roberto Cavalli, Michael Costello, Mathieu Mirano, Valentino as well as David Samuel Menkes, who created the leather jumpsuit. Gaga had wanted costumes with teal or turquoise colours and flowing gowns, belted in the middle. Maxwell took care to ensure that the dresses were not too tight in Gaga's abdomen area, since it would have been difficult for her to sing. Sandals were provided by Brian Atwood, Stuart Weitzman and Sophia Webster, while a pair of boots were designed by Giuseppe Zanotti. They created custom made shoes which made Gaga appear tall and move freely in the long gowns. [17] Gaga herself altered one of the halter dresses, denoting it as the "naked dress". [18] During the tour, Bennett was accompanied by the Tony Bennett Quartet (which includes Mike Renzi) and Gaga with the Brian Newman Quintet. [19] [20]
The Cheek to Cheek Tour generally received critical acclaim. Marc Graser from Variety called Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett "perfect dance partners". He was impressed with Gaga and Bennett's vocals, stating that the concert was "charmingly effective in showing off the talents of both artists on a stage simply decorated with crystal-studded curtains". [15] Writing for Las Vegas Weekly , Mark Adams gave a positive review, saying that "every performance was flawless". He complimented the vocals of the duo and noted that "the two stars might be decades apart in age, but they're both at the top of their game now". Adams concluded his review saying "it seems like an odd pairing. But anyone who has heard these two true professionals sing together knows that it just works". [21] Ashley Lee of The Hollywood Reporter defined the concert as "an effortlessly powerful Bennett and a respectfully restrained Gaga pair for a decadent set of standards". [22] A review in The Vancouver Sun stated that the "duo lights up the Queen Elizabeth Theatre" and also praised Gaga's performance onstage as a "born entertainer". [23]
Stuart Derdyn from The Seattle Times wrote that although neither Bennett's vocals nor Gaga's vocals were perfect, their solo performances were commendable. He also noticed the positive reaction from the audience, adding that "if there had been any more standing ovations, you could have mistaken [the show] for an aerobics class for the well-dressed." [24] Writing for the San Jose Mercury News , critic Jim Harrington found the solo performances to be more appealing, adding that although Gaga added "shock factor" to the concert, she had commendable vocals to be on par with Bennett. [25] Denny Directo from Entertainment Tonight reviewed the shows in Hollywood Bowl. He praised the whole concert and the duo's vocal ability, saying that "[Gaga] was born to perform the American Songbook" and "[Bennett] is a national treasure whose career spans over six decades and he's still got it". At the end he added, "These two are the real deal". [26] Conversely, Barry Brecheisen from Orange County Register gave a more negative feedback of the show, saying that Gaga's singing ability was restrained and her untimely departures from the stage for costume changes were distracting. "That's all the more frustrating considering her solo spotlights were the evening's standouts, outshining the almost de rigueur standing ovations Bennett garnered", the reviewer added. [27]
In London, Bennett canceled the tour's second show at the Royal Albert Hall because of coming down with a flu, hence only the first show was reviewed by the British media. [28] Writing for The Daily Telegraph , journalist Neil McCormick rated the show with four out of five stars. He complimented the camaraderie between Bennett and Gaga, and believed that their vocals were most meaningful "on deep ballads like 'Nature Boy'". [29] Caroline Sulivan from The Guardian rated the show same as McCormick and complimented some of the performances as being "great moments", including "I Can't Give You Anything But Love", "Nature Boy" and "I Won't Dance", as well as Gaga's cover of Édith Piaf's "La Vie en rose" and "Bang Bang". [30] A same rating was given by Ludovic Hunter-Tilney from Financial Times who complimented Bennett's vocals but felt Gaga's solo performances "stole the show". [31] Jim Farber from New York Daily News reviewed the first show out of four at Radio City Music Hall and described their live rapport as energetic and humorous. [32] Stephen Holden from The New York Times gave a positive review, praising their vocals and the development of the show. He also noticed the difference between the performers on stage, specifically "Gaga's bright, saucy Broadway-trained voice and Mr. Bennett's mature saloon style". [33] In another positive review, Chicago Tribune 's Howard Reich stated "Bennett and Gaga all but erased the decades separating them". [34] Joe Lynch from Billboard gave a rating of 4 stars for Gaga and Bennett's stand-out vocal performances; he praised Gaga's delivery of "Bang Bang" and "La Vie en Rose" describing it as "astonished". [35] The Cheek to Cheek Tour was ranked first in the Vulture 's list of the 10 best concerts of 2015. [36]
Jesse Lawrence from Forbes reported that there was high demand for the tickets, leading to additional dates being added to the itinerary. He also noted that the concerts had a much higher ticket price than the average, especially in the secondary markets. The first two dates were sold out immediately, with a high demand hence secondary market average price for New Year's Eve performance at The Chelsea was above $1,000 with a $329 get-in price for a limited quantity of tickets. [13] The end-of-the-year concert was the most expensive show at Las Vegas, with tickets averaging at $647.58 and the get-in price starting at $239. [37] For The Wiltern, ticket price was average $297.64 over a few hundred available tickets. Again, for the New York shows, all except the front row seats were sold out, leading to a third date being added on June 22, 2015. A similar situation occurred when tickets went on sale for their concert of June 8 at Royal Albert Hall in London, leading to an additional date to be added for June 9. [13] Tickets for June 26–27 shows at the Ravinia Festival also sold out before them being available for general public. [38]
In another article on Forbes, Lawrence wrote that there was a "massive" demand for tickets on the secondary market for Radio City Music Hall's shows. According to TiqIQ, the average secondary price was $380.83 with cheapest ones at $143, being the most expensive tickets on the tour in the United States. The total average was up by 50.5% throughout the 24 dates in the country, at $252.91. He also wrote about the show at Borgata Events Center in Atlantic City, which had tickets averaging $406.90 and the get-in price listed at $220. [39] As it approached the final dates of the tour, there were more sold-out shows, with the average prices on the remaining dates and seats at $213.58. [40] The Pollstar 2015 Mid-Year Top 100 Worldwide Tour list revealed Cheek to Cheek Tour as the 69th highest grosser, with a total of $13.1 million from 13 shows, and a total of 146,795 in attendance. [41] At the end of 2015, the tour placed at number 71 on the Pollstar "2015 Year-End Top 200 North American Tours" list, grossing $15.3 million from 27 shows with a total attendance of 176,267. [42]
This set list is representative of the show on June 19, 2015. It does not represent all dates throughout the tour. [32]
Date | City | Country | Venue | Reason |
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June 9, 2015 [lower-alpha 12] | London | England | Royal Albert Hall | Bennett's flu |
Venue | City | Tickets sold / available | Gross revenue |
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The Cosmopolitan | Las Vegas | 4,200 / 4,200 | $813,675 [56] |
The AXIS | 7,942 / 8,654 | $1,057,009 [57] | |
Hollywood Bowl | Los Angeles | 33,357 / 34,534 | $2,671,774 [58] |
Meadow Brook Music Festival | Rochester | 6,738 / 6,738 | $594,810 [59] |
TOTAL | 52,237 / 54,126 | $5,137,268 |
Anthony Dominick Benedetto, known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards. Bennett was named an NEA Jazz Master and a Kennedy Center Honoree and founded the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria, Queens, New York. He sold more than 50 million records worldwide and earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
"Love for Sale" is a song by Cole Porter introduced by Kathryn Crawford in the musical The New Yorkers, which opened on Broadway on December 8, 1930 and closed in May 1931 after 168 performances. The song is written from the viewpoint of a prostitute advertising "love for sale".
"Nature Boy" is a song first recorded by American jazz singer Nat King Cole. It was released on March 29, 1948, as a single by Capitol Records, and later appeared on the album, The Nat King Cole Story. It was written by eden ahbez as a tribute to Bill Pester, who practiced the Naturmensch and Lebensreform philosophies adopted by ahbez. The lyrics of the song relate to a 1940s Los Angeles–based group called "Nature Boys", a subculture of proto-hippies of which ahbez was a member.
"Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" is the second single by American singer-actress Cher from her second album, The Sonny Side of Chér (1966). It was written by her husband Sonny Bono and released in 1966. The song reached No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart and No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a week (behind "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration" by The Righteous Brothers), eventually becoming one of Cher's biggest-selling singles of the 1960s.
"I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby" is an American popular song and jazz standard by Jimmy McHugh (music) and Dorothy Fields (lyrics). The song was introduced by Adelaide Hall at Les Ambassadeurs Club in New York in January 1928 in Lew Leslie's Blackbird Revue, which opened on Broadway later that year as the highly successful Blackbirds of 1928, wherein it was performed by Adelaide Hall, Aida Ward, and Willard McLean.
"Anything Goes" is a song written by Cole Porter for his 1934 musical of the same name. Many of the lyrics include humorous references to figures of scandal and gossip from Depression-era high society.
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She is known for reinventing her image and showcasing versatility in entertainment. Gaga started performing as a teenager by singing at open mic nights and acting in school plays. She studied Collaborative Arts Project 21 before leaving to pursue a music career. After a contract cancellation by Def Jam Recordings, Gaga worked as a songwriter for Sony/ATV Music Publishing. In 2007, she signed with Interscope Records and KonLive Distribution. Her breakthrough came the following year with her debut studio album, The Fame, and its singles "Just Dance" and "Poker Face". The album was later reissued along with The Fame Monster (2009), which yielded the successful singles "Bad Romance", "Alejandro" and "Telephone".
The Monster Ball Tour was the second worldwide concert tour by American singer Lady Gaga. Staged in support of her first EP, The Fame Monster (2009) and comprising a set list of songs mostly from that and her debut studio album, The Fame (2008), the tour visited arenas and stadiums from 2009 through 2011. It is the highest-grossing tour for a debut headlining artist in history. Described as "the first-ever pop electro opera" by Gaga, the tour was announced in October 2009 after an intended joint concert tour with rapper Kanye West was suddenly cancelled. The Monster Ball Tour commenced four days after the release of The Fame Monster in November 2009.
The Born This Way Ball was the third concert tour by American singer Lady Gaga, in support of her second studio album Born This Way (2011). The tour visited every populated continent, and was ranked as the fifth highest-grossing tour of 2012 by Pollstar. The tour grossed $22.5 million in 2013 according to Pollstar's year-end chart from the 18 dates played, bringing the Born This Way Ball Tour's total gross to $183.9 million from 98 dates. The tour was well received by critics who praised the stage design, Gaga's vocal abilities and different expressive messages.
The Moonshine Jungle Tour was the third concert tour by American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars. The tour supported his second studio album, Unorthodox Jukebox (2012), from June 2013 to October 2014. After an official announcement on February 10, 2013, which coincided with Mars's performance at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards, a promotional trailer and behind-the-scenes footage of the tour were released through Mars's official YouTube channel and website. Mars and his team selected Ellie Goulding and Fitz and the Tantrums as the opening acts for the first North American leg, while music video director Cameron Duddy was signed as creative director for the tour in North America. In Europe and Oceania, Mayer Hawthorne and Miguel, respectively, were selected to open the shows.
Cheek to Cheek is the first collaborative album by American singers Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, released on September 19, 2014, by Columbia and Interscope Records. It is Bennett's fifty-eighth studio album, and Gaga's fourth. The two first met at the Robin Hood Foundation gala in New York City in 2011, and later recorded a rendition of "The Lady Is a Tramp" together, after which they began discussing plans of working on a jazz project. Cheek to Cheek consists of jazz standards by popular composers such as George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, and Irving Berlin. It was inspired by Bennett and Gaga's desire to introduce the songs to a younger generation, since they believed these tracks have a universal appeal.
ArtRave: The Artpop Ball was the fourth headlining concert tour by American singer Lady Gaga. Supporting her third studio album Artpop (2013), the tour ran from May 4, 2014, to November 24, 2014. The tour dates included cities where Gaga had canceled shows of her previous Born This Way Ball tour after suffering a hip injury. The ArtRave tour was preceded by a performance at the South by Southwest music festival, which drew controversy due to a segment where an artist vomited on Gaga, and a seven-day residency at the Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan, New York.
Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga: Cheek to Cheek Live! is an American concert television special and live album featuring performances by Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga in support of their collaborative studio album, Cheek to Cheek, released in September 2014. It was held at the Rose Theater of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in July following the announcement of the album's release, and was aired on PBS on October 24, 2014, as part of the network's Great Performances series. The concert was watched by an audience consisting of invited guests and students from New York schools. Bennett and Gaga were joined on stage by a 39-piece orchestra and jazz musicians associated with both artists. A number of costumes were worn by Gaga, provided by designers including Roberto Cavalli, Michael Costello, Mathieu Mirano, Valentino as well as David Samuel Menkes. The special received one nomination at the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards.
The In the Name of Love Tour was a concert tour by American recording artist, Diana Ross. The tour visited the Americas and Asia throughout 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.
The Joanne World Tour was the sixth headlining concert tour by American singer Lady Gaga, in support of her fifth studio album, Joanne (2016). It began on August 1, 2017, in Vancouver, Canada and ended on February 1, 2018, in Birmingham, England. After tickets went on sale, various shows in Europe and North America quickly sold out, prompting additional dates in both continents.
Lady Gaga Enigma + Jazz & Piano is a concert residency by American singer-songwriter Lady Gaga held at the Park Theater in the Las Vegas Valley, Nevada. The residency consists of two types of shows: Enigma, which focuses on theatricality and includes the singer's biggest hits, and Jazz & Piano, which involves songs from the Great American Songbook and stripped-down versions of Gaga's songs. The Enigma show was built around a loose storyline about "healing and finding yourself", and saw Gaga wearing various sci-fi inspired outfits. For Jazz & Piano, Gaga aimed for "glamour and elegance", with her wardrobe harkening back to the Jazz Age and vintage Vegas. The Enigma shows opened on December 28, 2018, and the Jazz & Piano shows opened on January 20, 2019. After a 21-month long hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the residency returned to the theater on October 14, 2021.
Love for Sale is the second collaborative album by American singers Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, released on September 30, 2021, by Columbia and Interscope Records. It is the sixty-first and final studio album of Bennett's career, and Gaga's seventh. Following Cheek to Cheek (2014), the duo's first collaborative album, Love for Sale was recorded between 2018 and early 2020, consisting of their renditions of various jazz standards by American composer Cole Porter, to whom the record is a tribute.
One Last Time: An Evening with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga is a television special by American singers Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga. It originally aired on November 28, 2021, on CBS while being simulcast on Paramount+. Consisting of select duets and solo performances, it was part of the promotion of their second collaborative studio album, Love for Sale, released on September 30, 2021. A celebration of Bennett's 95th birthday, the special was recorded on August 3 and 5, 2021, when Bennett and Gaga presented a pair of shows at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. They were Bennett's final public performances, as he retired shortly after from performing live due to his health condition.