Bruno Mars almost abandoned the smash hit duet with Lady Gaga, but he smiled

The Locked Out in Heaven singer had all but given up on the demo until he found out about Gaga’s involvement in 2024’s Joker: Folie à Deux, according to his colleague James Fauntleroy.

“He [Bruno] was such a genius for pulling that out of the back of his subconscious memory because of the timing of that movie, which is also how Lady Gaga came into his mind as a collaborator,” Fauntleroy said in an interview with Variety.

“He had already kind of started the ball rolling when we found out that wasn’t going to be a thing because Bruno’s power compels you.”

The songwriter, who has collaborated with well-known artists like Travis Scott, Beyonce, SZA, and Rihanna, was astounded by Gaga’s musical ability. 

“She said, ‘Let’s go to the piano,'” he recalled. 

Although I was aware that she could play the piano, I was amazed to see her sit down like a musician and practice the chords—so much so that she requested a pen and paper and wrote them down. This has never been done before. That’s where she learned the f****** song, buddy.

And they were singing it together as part of their performance. And I should have seen then that it would be something unique.

“Bruno jumping in the booth, then her jumping in the booth and going back and forth,” said producer Andrew Watt. At one point, she was playing the piano while the rest of us were on guitars. It reminded me of Fleetwood Mac or something.

With over 1.7 billion plays, the single became the top-ranked song on Spotify worldwide for the year.

The two also won a Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for the soaring ballad.