Introduction
The electrifying image of Metallica’s iconic frontman James Hetfield sharing the microphone with pop phenomenon Lady Gaga during their powerful rendition of “Moth Into Flame” has become an unforgettable highlight in Grammy Awards history. This unexpected yet mesmerizing collaboration took center stage at the 59th Grammy Awards ceremony at Los Angeles’ Staples Center on February 12, 2017.
What makes this partnership even more fascinating is how organically it came together. The seeds of this genre-crossing performance were planted during a seemingly ordinary dinner party at acclaimed actor Bradley Cooper’s residence. It was there that Metallica’s drummer Lars Ulrich encountered Lady Gaga, sparking what would become a memorable musical moment.
Reflecting on that fateful evening, Ulrich shared, “I found myself sitting next to her at this dinner party [with Gaga], and something just clicked in my mind. I thought, ‘Wait a minute, this could be something extraordinary.’ So I simply asked her, ‘We’re performing at the Grammys in a couple of months, would you be interested in joining us?’ Her enthusiasm was immediate as she responded, ‘Yes, that would be amazing.'”
This led to the high-profile collaboration. Lady Gaga and Metallica performed an incredible live version of “Moth Into A Flame” on stage. Watch the video below:
On that night, Lady Gaga and Metallica encountered problems that almost overshadowed their amazing performance. Firstly, Laverne Cox, who introduced the performance, forgot to mention Metallica but later apologized for the oversight on Twitter. Metallica then faced microphone issues at the start of their performance, muting his powerful voice.
However, thankfully, Lady Gaga’s quick thinking turned a potential disaster into a memorable performance. She generously shared her microphone with Hetfield, transforming a technical issue into an intimate duet.
Honestly, the brilliance of this performance lies in the imperfection caused by the mic failure and how Lady Gaga and James Hetfield adapted to it. The dress rehearsal was technically “better”, but it lacked the interesting spontaneity of the live performance. The incredible musicians and performers seamlessly adapted to the unexpected situation, earning praise from the audience for their amazing handling of the mic outage.