Why Lady Gaga Prerecorded Her 2025 MTV VMAs Performance
NEED TO KNOW
- Lady Gaga prerecorded her 2025 MTV VMAs performance
- The “Abracadabra” singer is currently on tour in support of her album Mayhem
- She is the most-nominated artist this year with 12 nods, including Artist of the Year and Best Album
Lady Gaga prerecorded her 2025 MTV VMAs performance for a pretty good reason.
The 14-time Grammy winner, who is up for 12 VMAs tonight, taped her songs for the star-studded awards show during her Saturday, Sept. 6, show at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
Gaga, 39, pre-taped her theatrical production for the VMAs because she is performing at the Garden in Manhattan at the same time the awards show taking place at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York.
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The “How Bad Do U Want Me” singer is currently touring in support of her album Mayhem, which she released in March with stops in New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago and several cities in Europe.
Mayhem is up for Best Album. Meanwhile, the “Abracadabra” music video is up for Best Direction, Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography. Gaga herself is nominated for Best Artist.
She and collaborator Bruno Mars are nominated together for Best Pop, Best Collaboration, Song of the Year and Video of the Year thanks to their duet “Die with a Smile.”
Days before the VMAs, Gaga canceled her Miami show on Sept. 3 due to vocal strain. “During rehearsal last night and my vocal warmup tonight my voice was extremely strained and both my [doctor] and vocal coach have advised me not to go on because of the risk it poses,” she wrote.
“There is a significant risk based on all our combined experience with a show like ours and as you know I sing live every night — and even though this was a hard and agonizing decision I would be more afraid of the long term implications on my voice,” Gaga continued.
“I hope you can forgive me and accept my sincerest apologies for any disappointment. Let down. Inconvenience.”
The Kaseya Center, where Gaga was meant to perform, also released a statement to fans with tickets to that evening’s show. “During her warmup tonight lady gaga experienced significant vocal strain and has been advised by her ent not to perform,” they explained on their Instagram page.
The venue also noted that “information on the rescheduled date and the process for refunds will be issued soon.”
Kevin Mazur/Getty
The 2025 MTV VMAs air live from New York’s UBS Arena on Sunday, Sept. 7 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and MTV. The ceremony will also stream on Paramount+.
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