Duet to ‘Die’ for: Lady Gaga joins Bruno Mars in Vegas appearance

Bruno Mars finally got his wish to sing with Lady Gaga in Las Vegas.

Gaga joined Mars’ sold-out performance Tuesday night at Dolby Live to sing their new single, “Die With a Smile.” The duo performed the new song twice in succession, as the place (we heard) came apart.

“Die With a Smile” is new to Mars’ set list, performed in his encore. It is usually the night’s penultimate song, preceding “Uptown Funk.”

Issued Aug. 16, “Die With a Smile” has debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard singles charts. “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Shaboozy is No. 1 for the second straight week. “I Had Some Help” from Post Malone, featuring Morgan Wallen, is No. 2.

There is scant video or audio of Tuesday’s Gaga-Mars moment. Mars does not allow phones in his shows. But his Instagram account was active Wednesday. A repost of a TikTok/Reel poster dancing under the message, “Lady Gaga on her way to get Bruno Mars out of debt” turned up on Mars’ official IG feed.

There was some (unfounded, of course) buzz across the socials that Mars collaborated with Gaga to offset gambling debt with MGM Resorts. The company has refuted that claim. And everything Mars has to say about the issue is in this story.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.