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The rumors were true: Lady Gaga sang at the 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony. But, what song did she go with?
What Song Did Lady Gaga Perform At The 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony?
Gaga sang “Mon Truc En Plumes” (which translates to “My Thing With Feathers”) by French dancer, actress, and singer Renée “Zizi” Jeanmaire. The song was a hit for Jeanmaire in the 1960s, even making some noise among English-speaking audiences: She performed it on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1965. That performance is visually similar to Gaga’s Olympic rendition, albeit more tailored for a TV studio setting, and is how Jeanmaire would perform the song on stage.
Jeanmaire’s began her career in entertainment as a dancer and mostly focused on that throughout her career. She had a couple roles in Hollywood films, though: 1952’s Hans Christian Andersen and 1956’s Anything Goes. Jeanmaire died in Switzerland in 2020, at 96 years old.
After Gaga’s performance, she paid tribute to Jeanmaire on social media, writing in part, “I feel so completely grateful to have been asked to open the Paris @Olympics 2024 this year. I am also humbled to be asked by the Olympics organizing committee to sing such a special French song–a song to honor the French people and their tremendous history of art, music, and theatre. This song was sung by Zizi Jeanmaire, born in Paris a French ballerina, she famously sang ‘Mon Truc en Plumes’ in 1961. The title means ‘My Thing with Feathers.’ And this is not the first time we’ve crossed paths. Zizi starred in Cole Porter’s musical ‘Anything Goes’ which was my first jazz release. Although I am not a French artist, I have always felt a very special connection with French people and singing French music–I wanted nothing more than to create a performance that would warm the heart of France, celebrate French art and music, and on such a momentous occasion remind everyone of one of the most magical cities on earth–Paris.”
I feel so completely grateful to have been asked to open the Paris @Olympics 2024 this year. I am also humbled to be asked by the Olympics organizing committee to sing such a special French song—a song to honor the French people and their tremendous history of art, music, and… pic.twitter.com/FMNyiosHUR
— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) July 26, 2024