Lady Gaga ditches her glam Oscars look for no makeup and ripped jeans in raw and emotional performance

Lady Gaga removed her glamorous makeup and changed out of her red carpet dress into ripped jeans and a T-shirt to give a stripped back performance of Hold My Hand at the Oscars 2023.

Earlier in the night, the singer took to the red carpet at the 95th Academy Awards looking super glam in a sheer black Versace gown, teamed with a bold red lip and heavy black eyeliner.

But when she took to the stage to give a performance of her Oscar-nominated song Hold My Hand, from the Top Gun: Maverick soundtrack, she showed off her natural skin with no makeup, while sporting ripped black jeans and a plain black T-shirt.

She teamed the casual outfit with a pair of simple black Converse trainers, with her hair pulled back into a tight braid.

Before she started singing, Lady Gaga addressed the audience, telling them how personal the song is to her.

She said, "It's deeply personal for me and I think that we all need each other, we need a lot of love to walk through this life.

"And we all need a hero sometimes, there's heroes all around us. In unassuming places, but you might find that you can be your own hero, even if you feel broken inside."

The stripped back performance was dedicated to the late 'Top Gun' director Tony Scott and at the end, a photo of him alongside Tom Cruise appeared, with the words: “In memory of Tony Scott.”

This year, the Oscars broke tradition for the first time in over six decades by not making the red carpet red. Instead, they swapped the bold hue they've used since 1961 - which is officially known as Academy Red - for a soft champagne color. 

Referencing Will Smith’s famous slap, host Jimmy Kimmel offered up one explanation why the carpet has changed for the first time since 1961.

He joked, "I think the decision to go with a champagne carpet rather than a red carpet shows how confident we are that no blood will be shed.”

This, of course, is not the actual reason. The decision to use the "soothing" and "mellow" tone was a practical one, so that the carpet could easily work for the day-to-night event and not clash with the orange tent that is erected over the carpet to shield the guests from sun or rain.

"We had to first come up with the tent and what color that would be," red carpet creative consultant Lisa Love told Hollywood Reporter.

"In order to block the light, that had to be a darker color. You’ve seen it as a sienna or saffron-colored sienna, which connotes the color of sunset. Where do you see the sunset best? From the sandy beaches with a glass of champagne in your hand. This is about getting ready for the golden hour that follows the show."