Lady Gaga’s debut single “Just Dance” was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on Wednesday (April 12).
The milestone–given to artists who reach 10,000,000 units sold–comes just days after the 2008 smash featuring Colby O’Donis celebrated its 15th anniversary. With her third Diamond record–following “Bad Romance” and “Poker Face”—Gaga also became the very first woman to receive the RIAA’s Digital Diamond Award.
Earlier this year, Lady Gaga was nominated for Best Original Song at this year’s Oscars for Top Gun: Maverick’s “Hold My Hand.” Gaga and Rihanna were both nominated in the Best Original Song category, the former being recognized for her Top Gun: Maverick song “Hold My Hand.” The latter was in the running for her Black Panther: Wakanda Forever contribution, “Lift Me Up.” Neither ended up taking home the award.
The two global icons lost to Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava’s “Naatu Naatu” from RRR. Other nominees included Sofia Carson’s “Applause” – written by legendary songwriter Diane Warren – from Tell It Like A Womanand Son Lux’s “This Is A Life (feat. Mitski and David Byrne)” from Everything Everywhere All At Once.
Though Gaga didn’t win, she still stole the show. She made an unannounced appearance, arriving on stage in a simple t-shirt and ripped jeans. “I wrote this song with my friend BloodPop for the film Top Gun: Maverick in my studio basement,” she said by way of introduction. “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.”
Last year, it was confirmed that Lady Gaga would co-star alongside Joaquin Phoenix in the new movie Joker: Folie à Deux–the sequel to Todd Phillips’ widely acclaimed 2019 film, Joker.
Joker: Folie à Deux is currently set for an October 4, 2024, theatrical release. Joker was nominated for the 2020 Academy Award for Best Picture, and Phoenix won Best Actor for his portrayal of Arthur Fleck (aka Joker). Hildur Guðnadóttir won multiple awards for her score, notably winning the Oscar and the Golden Globe for Best Original Score, as well as the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media.
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