Lady Gaga Wanted 'People to See the Real' Her in 'Raw' Oscars 2023 Performance, Producer Says

Kevin Winter/Getty Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga was full of surprises at the 95th Academy Awards.

After the Oscar winner, 36, gave a stripped-down performance of her nominated song "Hold My Hand" from Top Gun: Maverick at Sunday's awards show, the executive producers explained that she "wanted it to be raw" in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

"She was really appropriate about the fact that this is a meaningful song to her and she wanted to really strip it down and do it not as an 'Oscar performance,' but as her," explained showrunner Glenn Weiss. "And that's exactly what we tried to capture."

Gaga's performance came after she originally had to turn down the gig due to scheduling conflicts as she films the Joker sequel Folie à Deux. It was reported Sunday that she would be able to make it after all, hours before she walked the red carpet in a black Versace gown, a glam contrast from her makeup-free performance look.

Executive producer Ricky Kirshner noted they have "built up trust in the relationship with Gaga over the years" after working together on her Super Bowl halftime show in 2017 and her performance with Bradley Cooper of her Oscar-winning "Shallow" from A Star Is Born at the awards show in 2019.

"She really wanted to do something. She honestly was shooting her movie — there was no trickery involved," he said of the last minute shakeup.

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"And Thursday, at 4-something, we got a text that she wanted to try something, didn't have time to put together a big performance," Kirshner recalled. "But wanted it to be raw and people to see the real Gaga, and, with a voice like that, you don't need much more than that."

Gaga went for a makeup-free look in a black T-shirt, ripped jeans and sneakers as she sat on a stool and performed with her band onstage. She explained the song is "deeply personal for me" during her intro.

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"I think that we all need each other. We need a lot of love to walk through this life. We all need a hero sometimes — there's heroes all around us in unassuming places," said Gaga. "But, you might find that you could be your own hero even if you feel broken inside."

Best Original Song ultimately went to "Naatu Naatu" from Indian entry RRR, which also beat out fellow nominees: Rihanna's "Lift Me Up" from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Diane Warren's "Applause" from Tell It Like a Woman and "This Is a Life" by Son Lux, Mitski and David Byrne from Everything Everywhere All at Once. All of the songs were performed live during the ceremony.