According to his collaborator, James Fauntleroy, Bruno Mars nearly pulled the plug on his ‘Die With A Smile’ demo until he learned about Lady Gaga’s role in Joker: Folie à Deux.
In an interview with Variety, Fauntleroy said:
“He [Bruno] was such a genius for pulling that out of the back of his subconscious memory because of the timing of that movie, which is also how Lady Gaga came into his mind as a collaborator.” “Then when we found out that wasn’t gonna be a thing, he had already kind of started the ball rolling because the power of Bruno compels you.”
In addition to collaborating with such mega-musicians as Beyoncé, SZA, Rihanna, and Travis Scott – was blown away by Gaga’s musicianship, James added:
“She was like, ‘Let’s go to the piano.'” “I knew she could play the piano, but watching her actually sit down like a musician and learn the chords, so much so that she actually asked for a pen and paper and wrote the chords down… This is unheard of. She learned the f****** song, dude, right there.” “And they were performing, singing it together. And that’s when I should have known it was going to be something special.”
Producer Andrew Watt shared “Bruno jumping in the booth, then her jumping in the booth and going back and forth. There was a point where we were all on guitars and she was on the piano. It was like being in Fleetwood Mac or something.”
Having secured 1,700,000,000+ streams, the Mars/Gaga duet has since become Spotify’s #1 leading global track for the year, and the emotional ballad earned the duo a Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
Keep up with the latest trending music news by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Author: Al Dente
Photo: Brothers Le