Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett, the odd couple of pop music, have another big hit on their hands with their rendition of “Winter Wonderland,” which topped the iTunes jazz charts this week. But despite Gaga and Bennett’s current buzzworthy status on the jazz scene, the duo won’t be attending the 2015 M&T Syracuse Jazz Fest as the event couldn’t raise the $150,000 cash to book the multi-generational hipsters.
Jazz Fest Executive Director Frank Malfitano had hoped a donor would come through for the extra funds so he could add Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett to the list of artists performing, but the plan had to be shelved.
“The clock ran out and it went away,” Malfitano told Syracuse.com. “This is a normal part of the process. People just got a peek behind the curtain this time.”
Gaga and Bennett won’t be performing at the jazz festival, but fans are downloading “Winter Wonderland” in droves to enjoy during the holidays, where it is currently the number one download on the iTunes jazz charts . Actually, the “deluxe” version is number one, and the “regular” version is number three, so it’s on the charts twice.
The duetting duo have become fast friends since recording their jazz album Cheek to Cheek, and even appeared together in a holiday ad for clothing store H&M.
While this may appear to be an odd pairing, Lady Gaga does have the knack for finding common ground with celebrities who seem to be on opposite ends of the spectrum from the avant garde music diva. For example, she struck up a friendship with country “it girl” Miranda Lambert when they were seated together at an awards show a couple of years ago. Most recently, Gaga has also been posting photos with fellow songstress Mariah Carey, and hanging out backstage with Mariah at one of her All I Want for Christmas Is You shows at the Beacon Theater.
“Taking a selfie with the beautiful @ladygaga! Merry Christmas!!” Carey posted on Instagram, gushing with praise for Mother Monster as Gaga’s fans often refer to her.
Lady Gaga returned the praise on her Instagram, posting that Mariah “is so kind, such a star, and sounding legendary tonight at Beacon Theater.”
That’s a lot of love backstage, and a lot of cleavage, judging from the racy selfies the pair posted.
Between selfies and Christmas carols, Lady Gaga was also spotted in the studio this week with Nile Rogers, and she is working on her follow up to ARTPOP , her last album.