Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars Make Sublime Live Debut of ‘Die With a Smile’

On Thursday evening in Los Angeles, Bruno Mars invited Lady Gaga to join him for a live debut of their tender new ballad “Die With a Smile.” Mars was headlining the first-ever show at the new arena Intuit Dome in Inglewood.

Mars and Gaga joined forces not long after the song dropped on streaming. Just like in the video, the pair kept their live performance simple and aligned with the western aesthetic with which they’ve been promoting the song. With Mars on guitar and Gaga behind a keyboard, the pair made their larger-than-life vocals the centerpiece as they belted the romantic song. After Gaga left the stage, Mars did a reprise of the chorus with his full band.

The pair had been teasing the collaboration on social media by wearing each other’s merch in solo posts. This is the first new song in some time from either of them; Mars’ last release was as part of superduo Silk Sonic with Anderson .Paak in 2021. Gaga’s last album was 2020’s Chromatica, though last year she joined Stevie Wonder on the Rolling Stones’ “Sweet Sounds of Heaven.” Both Mars and Gaga have still been active since their last solo releases, however, keeping busy with Las Vegas residencies and their respective tours. Gaga has been teasing the imminent release of her seventh studio album while beginning to promote her new film Joker: Folie à Deux. When she announced the new song with Mars, she signaled to fans that the new project is on the way, writing in the caption, “WHILE YOU WAIT TILL LG7…”