Before her Carole King tribute performance, Lady Gaga told Carole and the audience that she had “rough nights” in her school days where she’d be kept up all night with nerves. Gaga would crank Carole’s “You’ve Got a Friend” at max volume to feel better and said she really felt Carole was her friend in those moments. Gaga got to return the favor many years later with a heartfelt and intimate solo piano performance of the song with Carole watching from the front row. The emotions on Carole’s face said it all.
Every single Gaga cover is both brilliant and special, and this one is no exception. Gaga always does her best work with her solo piano performances, and her voice is so incredibly expressive here. Hearing the full range of her voice, with no production behind it, shows what an incredible vocalist she is. The Music Man has to say that Gaga is also underrated as a pianist – what a tasteful performance she gives here.
Gaga performed “You’ve Got a Friend” at the MusiCares tribute in Los Angeles on January 24, 2014. More recently, the performance made its way as an HD upload to YouTube. Fans couldn’t get enough of the cover, noting it was one of Gaga’s finest hours. Viewers added comments such as “Her best cover to date,” “For me this is her BEST piano performance!” and “So blessed to have just seen this. Tears are streaming.”
Another classic Gaga moment is her performance of “Million Reasons” at the Royal Variety Performance. Hearing Gaga go full diva mode on the 54 million view cut is really something. Viewers praised Gaga’s flawless and dramatic vocal delivery, along with her magnetism as a performer. The effortless a cappella outro is just perfection. This rendition is also notable for the lush arrangement provided by the full orchestra.
Carole King issued “You’ve Got a Friend” on February 10, 1971, as a deep cut on her second studio album, Tapestry. Carole is the sole credited songwriter. James Taylor also recorded “You’ve Got a Friend” simultaneously with Carole’s recording, using some of the same musicians. James’ version features Joni Mitchell on backing vocals. He released the song as a single, and it hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as hitting number four in the UK. The Music Man readers might be interested to hear that both King and Taylor won Grammys for “You’ve Got a Friend,” gained for Song of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance respectively.