New Year's Eve with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga one of the most successful musical artists of all time.

Tony Bennett, Lady Gaga, Seth MacFarlane, Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams will all appear on NBC's annual special "New Year's Eve with Carson Daly." Live from Times Square in New York City, "New Year's Eve with Carson Daly" will air tonight, Dec. 31 from 10-11 p.m. and 11:30 p.m-12:30 a.m. The special is produced by Irwin Entertainment and Universal Television. The executive producers are John Irwin and Carson Daly. 

 Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga will perform together from "Cheek to Cheek," their critically acclaimed album of jazz standards. "Cheek to Cheek" debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 upon its release this September as well as landed on the top spot of the Billboard Jazz Charts and was just nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal category. Bennett is, of course, a musical legend who has been recording and performing for 60 years. 

He has won 17 Grammys, is a Kennedy Center honoree and has sold more than 50 million albums. This September, Bennett broke his own record to become the oldest artist at the age of 88 to have a #1 album on the Billboard charts - a record he first established at 85 when his "Duets II" debuted at #1.

 Lady Gaga is one of the most successful musical artists of all time. She has won five Grammys and 13 MTV Video Music Awards. Six years into her career, Lady Gaga has sold more than 27 million albums and 180 million digital tracks worldwide. The release of "Cheek to Cheek" marked her third #1 album debut on the Billboard Top 200 chart in just over three years. 

 The multi-talented Seth MacFarlane was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category for his album "Music Is Better Than Words," as well as an Academy Award for co-writing "Everybody Needs a Best Friend" from his 2012 film "Ted." He has won an Emmy for the music and lyrics on his long-running animated FOX sitcom "Family Guy," and also won for his voice-over work on the show. His new 13-song album, "Holiday for Swing," features both timeless holiday songs and lesser-known gems. The album was recorded at the iconic Abbey Road Studios in London. MacFarlane is backed by an impressive 52-piece orchestra. Blake Shelton is the reigning and five-time CMA male vocalist of the year. He has 18 #1 singles and is a coach on NBC's Emmy Award-winning musical competition series "The Voice." His most recent and ninth studio album, "Bringing Back the Sunshine," debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard top 200 and top country albums charts. Current "Voice" coaches Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams will perform together. Stefani recently released her new song, "Spark the Fire," which she co-wrote with producer Williams, reuniting the two hitmakers. They first collaborated on the 2005 hit "Hollaback Girl," which was featured on Stefani's debut solo album "Love. Angel. Music. Baby." A three-time Grammy winner, Stefani, who is currently putting the finishing touches on her new album, has achieved worldwide success as a performer, songwriter and recording artist, selling more than 30 million albums worldwide with No Doubt and as a multi-platinum solo artist. Williams, who has sold more than 100 million albums, has won seven GRAMMY AWARDS and ASCAP's prestigious Golden Note Award in 2012. He also received a 2014 Academy Award nomination for his original song "Happy," featured in the animated film "Despicable Me 2." "Happy" remained atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 10 consecutive weeks, peaked at #1 on iTunes in 103 markets worldwide. Williams' latest album "G I R L" was released on March 3, 2014 to rave reviews.

Lady Gaga performing Sting's, "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You" at the Kennedy Center Honors:

#LadyGaga just landed a major Beauty Endorsement! Taking #Selfies

Lady Gaga just landed a major beauty endorsement, and all she has to do is take a few selfies. The singer is the new face of Shiseido’s 2015 New Year’s campaign. She’s also the photographer.

According to WWD, Gaga has shot 50 selfies which will be published in various Japanese newspapers during the first week of 2015 (you know, when people will be busy hitting up all those post-holiday sales). The bulk of the ads (46!) will be published on January 1 and the rest on January 5. Unfortunately, as of now, there are no plans to feature Gaga’s selfies in American advertorials, so we’ll just have to hope she posts them on her social media channels. (It looks like she’s been practicing a lot recently judging by the number of ‘mug’ shots on her Instagram over the past two weeks.)

Gaga also posted another photo that captured our attention — a topless snap (above) in which she’s holding a variety of her famous wigs. “Your heart is filled with vanity, mine insanity,” she captioned the provocative snap. The 28-year-old star is known for constantly changing up her mane (see here, here andhere), and we bet she’ll go even bigger (if that’s possible) in 2015.

Lady Gaga spotted Sunday at local church; pop star praises songwriter

It was a bad time for Liz Fulmer to get a case of the jitters.

But, because she stepped outside for a moment to calm her jangling nerves, the local musician missed her chance to get personal kudos from Lady Gaga.

But apparently Gaga thought Fulmer’s original song, “He is Coming,” is really good.

She got a text from the pop star to prove it.

Fulmer, a 24-year-old Leola woman, plays piano at Grandview United Methodist Church in Manheim Township.

Shortly before the 10 a.m. service on Sunday, she was told that Gaga, nee Stefani Germanotta, and her longtime beau Taylor Kinney were in the church.

“I’m a huge fan,” Fulmer said Monday. “So I calmed down, then went to my spot.”

First, she posted a message to Facebook telling friends that she was playing a song for Gaga. “Send prayers, please,” she wrote.

Kinney, whose television roles include “Chicago PD,” “Chicago Fire” and “The Vampire Diaries,” is a 2000 graduate of Lancaster Mennonite High School.

Kinney’s aunt attends Grandview, Fulmer said, and the couple was in town to attend a family baptism.

Fulmer is part of the church’s Celebration Team leadership, she said, and her job Sunday was to play upbeat music for the service.

That included an original song, “He is Coming,” which Fulmer sang.

“I wrote it for Christmas Eve,” she explained. “It’s about how Bethlehem is still pertinent today. It’s not just an old story.”

Fulmer was nervous before and after the service. During, however, her professional instincts took over.

“When I began playing, I was like, hey, work it out,” she said. “During the song, it’s like she wasn’t there. Then I got nervous again when I was done.

“People from the church told me that she whispered to her boyfriend that I was good.”

When Fulmer was done, she stepped outside to catch her breath.

It was bad timing. She was told later that Gaga came up to talk to her but, when she couldn’t find her, left with Kinney through a side door.

“That would have been amazing,” Fulmer said. “Missed connection.”

But Fulmer’s story didn’t end there. Kinney got Fulmer’s number from someone else at the church, and Gaga used a friend’s phone to send her a message.

“Hi Liz, it’s Gaga,” it read in part. “You were sensational. Keep up the amazing work.”

Fulmer quickly posted her excitement to Facebook: “Gaga texted me to say I was ‘sensational’ — #sohappyicoulddie.”

Gaga also offered Fulmer advice on a music career, which she said Fulmer could forward to her through Kinney’s aunt.

“It was a very generous offer,” Fulmer said.

Besides her role at the church, Fulmer works at Hunger-N-Thirst and studies at Millersville University, where she is finishing an English major and a music minor.

She is studying English, she explained, “because being a better writer will make me a better songwriter.”

She previously completed a year of study at Berklee College of Music.

Praise from Lady Gaga is pretty meaningful boost to her aspirations, Fulmer said Monday.

“She’s a songwriter at heart,” she said. “It was all very serendipitous for me. I really am a huge fan.” 

Lady Gaga And Tony Bennett Topping Charts With ‘Winter Wonderland,’

Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett, the odd couple of pop music, have another big hit on their hands with their rendition of “Winter Wonderland,” which topped the iTunes jazz charts this week. But despite Gaga and Bennett’s current buzzworthy status on the jazz scene, the duo won’t be attending the 2015 M&T Syracuse Jazz Fest as the event couldn’t raise the $150,000 cash to book the multi-generational hipsters.

Jazz Fest Executive Director Frank Malfitano had hoped a donor would come through for the extra funds so he could add Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett to the list of artists performing, but the plan had to be shelved.

“The clock ran out and it went away,” Malfitano told Syracuse.com. “This is a normal part of the process. People just got a peek behind the curtain this time.”

Gaga and Bennett won’t be performing at the jazz festival, but fans are downloading “Winter Wonderland” in droves to enjoy during the holidays, where it is currently the number one download on the iTunes jazz charts. Actually, the “deluxe” version is number one, and the “regular” version is number three, so it’s on the charts twice.

The duetting duo have become fast friends since recording their jazz album Cheek to Cheek, and even appeared together in a holiday ad for clothing store H&M.

While this may appear to be an odd pairing, Lady Gaga does have the knack for finding common ground with celebrities who seem to be on opposite ends of the spectrum from the avant garde music diva. For example, she struck up a friendship with country “it girl” Miranda Lambert when they were seated together at an awards show a couple of years ago. Most recently, Gaga has also been posting photos with fellow songstress Mariah Carey, and hanging out backstage with Mariah at one of her All I Want for Christmas Is You shows at the Beacon Theater.

“Taking a selfie with the beautiful @ladygaga! Merry Christmas!!” Carey posted on Instagram, gushing with praise for Mother Monster as Gaga’s fans often refer to her.

Lady Gaga returned the praise on her Instagram, posting that Mariah “is so kind, such a star, and sounding legendary tonight at Beacon Theater.”

That’s a lot of love backstage, and a lot of cleavage, judging from the racy selfies the pair posted.

Between selfies and Christmas carols, Lady Gaga was also spotted in the studio this week with Nile Rogers, and she is working on her follow up to ARTPOP, her last album.

Lady Gaga Is Working On The Follow-Up To ‘ARTPOP’: “I Want It To Be A Surprise”

Earlier in the week, Lady Gaga was photographed working in the studiowith the legendary Nile Rodgers and prolific songwriter Diane Warren. And while it’s still unclear whether that session was for Gaga herself, a potential one-off for something (a soundtrack perhaps?) or Rodgers’upcoming Chic album, Mother Monster revealed in an interview yesterday that she is indeed getting started on her next LP.

In a piece for Yahoo! Style, the Cheek To Cheek diva revealed a first tease of what’s to come post-ARTPOP: “I want the fans to be surprised, but I will just tell you that it’s a wonderful, soul-searching experience,” she explained, “and it’s very unlike the last album in that way. I made that album on the road. ARTPOP was, you know, the acid-making record. And this record is like — my old self as a cadaver. And I’m just, I’m operating on my old self.” Operating on her old self? Sounds morbid, and slightly Fame Monster-esque. Does that sound promising to you, Little Monsters?

Check out the full interview over at Yahoo, and sound off in the comments below. GAGA HITS THE STUDIO WITH DIANE WARREN & NILE RODGERS

 

Is she working on her next solo album with Diane and Nile?

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The many looks of Gaga in 2014 Reflects On Her Year With Tony, Taylor, and the Acid-like Effect of ArtPop

What a difference a year makes. 

“I was doing yoga today,” says the indefatigable Lady Gaga over lunch at Joanne, her parents’ restaurant. “And my yoga teacher was like, ‘What the fuck?’ I had my toe up over my head, I was in some weird fucking position, I was talking to her about some David Lee Roth song—I don’t know what was going on. But she was like, ‘I don’t know what happened to you from before you left for the ArtRave and now. I just know that I need you to stay this way.’” 

As 2014 began, it was far from certain how Gaga’s year would go. Her entrance on a barbecue spit at South By Southwest in March played as something of a metaphor for what she’d been enduring in the media at the time—gratuitously vicious roastings of her as “over”, after the supposed “flop” of her album Artpop. And yet here we are. I would venture to say that Gaga has in fact had a more varied and interesting year than any of her peers. The grungy, stripped-down turn of that SXSW set. A historic week of concerts to close Roseland Ballroom, with a Gotham-centric show that mirrored the gritty, faded glory of that fabled venue. The transformation of Artpop into the blissful transcendence of the ArtRave tour, which concluded with a Paris concert whose live stream broke records for Yahoo and Live Nation. And of course, living out what Gaga says was “the dream” of making a jazz record,Cheek to Cheek, with larger-than-life octogenarian Tony Bennett—a collaboration that will continue into 2015 with 35 live dates around the world. This is what “over” looks like? Keep your pop music horse-race numbers, please. If you can make a case for a major music star who’s had a more intriguing year than Gaga, I would love to hear it. 

Related: Lady Gaga on Fashion, Sexuality, and Her 40,000 Square Foot Costume Archive 

No surprise then, that she’s in great, almost giddy spirits, when I slide into a booth at her family’s Upper West Side eatery. “It’s a wonderful thing when you’re waking up happy,” she says enthusiastically. Over Gaga’s shoulder is a picture of her boyfriend of three years (and currently the subject of a flurry of “will-they-or-won’t-they-get-married?” talk), actor Taylor Kinney. I observe that I’ve always thought her man has eyes so much like Leonardo DiCaprio, the two could play brothers. “Totally”, she concurs. “I want to see Taylor and Leo in a movie together, directed by Martin Scorsese!” Also on the wall—a New York State license plate that reads “LADYGAGA.” (Hey tourism board, want an actual New York girl to be your ambassador? I got your native right here.) “Tony said the other day, ‘Gaga the reason you’ve done so well is because you’re from New York,’” says the Lady. “And it’s true, I’ve got thick skin, but I needed to get myself healthy again. It was like Frankenstein, you know? It was like I was in pieces and all of a sudden I was all sewn back together.” 

In a sense, you can trace the eclectic thrills of Gaga’s 2014 through her style. While there were hotel comings and goings, promo appearances, and a performance at a much talked-about Harper’s Bazaar Icons soirée that were all memorable, it’s the images of her live shows that endure the most. And talk about contrast! On the one hand you had SXSW— sporting a rats’ nest of white dreads (a holdover look from her Artpop video by Inez & Vinoodh), a bikini, andcovered in performance artist Millie Brown’s vomited paint. On the other, only a few months later, there were the glam outfits of her Cheek to Cheek special with Bennett, filmed at Jazz at Lincoln Center. How could those possibly be the same artist? “That’s Lady Gaga!” she says. “You know, I’m the lady by day, and I’m Gaga by night. And I’m always going to be that way, because it’s a testament to your discipline as a musician. I do like to drink, I like to get crazy, I like to go out with my friends, and I like to sing rock and roll. I used to go-go dance! And I like to be inspired by young artists, people like Millie who are outrageously hard, disciplined individuals. But at the end of the day I’m a classically trained pianist and I’m a singer, and that’s what allows the girl that goes out at night to also go on stage with Tony Bennett at Lincoln Center. Because I know how to do it.”

Related: Lady Gaga Is a Crazy, Sparkly Sea Urchin (Or a Yuletide Star) 

For Cheek to Cheek’s album cover, shot by Steven Klein, and parts of the special, broadcast in October on PBS, Gaga sported a mane of black curls that recalled “If I Could Turn Back Time”-era Cher. But at other points in the show, wearing a jazz age headdress, she brought to mind another Italian-American gal like herself—Liza Minnelli. There have even been recent rumours that 2015 might include some sort of collaboration between Gaga with a G and Liza with a Z. While Gaga dismisses them as just that—rumours—she does recall the first time she met the icon. “Are you kidding me? She made the most epic entrance of anyone I’ve ever met,” she laughs. “She walked into my dressing room, she threw her fur coat on the floor, her diamond earrings were flapping, and she goes, ‘I’m here!’ It was totally unreal!”

Gaga herself knows how to make an entrance – as she did night after night on the ArtRave, rising up onto the stage in a bejewelled costume outfitted with Jeff Koons’ blue “gazing ball.” This latest mega-show may have connected with fans more intimately than any of her previous tours, she says, something she found especially gratifying considering the sniping around Artpop upon its release that it was a “clinical” record. “With that album it’s like I was creating my own acid. Acid is a synthetically created drug, in laboratories, and I created a synthetic musical drug for myself to survive my life. But then as I travelled around the world I met more and more kids that were fully fucking Artpop to the wildest galaxies of their dreams. Kids whose whole lives were changed by the album. You know, Planet Venus is a place that they go in their minds when they are at home, to escape their family life, their troubles, their depression.”

Related: Lady Gaga Gets Emotional for artRAVE Tour Finale in Paris 

Gaga considers herself a songwriter, and over four albums she has by her own estimate written “90 per cent” of her songs. But this year, she’s done double duty, alternating between singing her own material on ArtRave and along with Bennett, performing standards from the Great American Songbook—songs written in an era before a premium was placed on singers also being songwriters. Gaga sees a value in both kinds of music, with one caveat: “If you’re not gonna write your own music,” she tells me, “you better be able to blow. Because if you can’t blow, there’s no reason to do the job. But then you think about artists that can’t really sing, that have songs written for them, and it’s like, well why are they artists? Why are companies paying money to promote them? Because they’re beautiful and look good on camera and are kinda-sorta singing along? It’s like karaoke for pretty girls. When you’re a singer-songwriter it doesn’t really matter if you’re beautiful. What matters is that you create a relationship with your fans, and they care what you have to say.”

And Gaga clearly has a lot still to say. Thanks to a mixed bag of projects, the endorsement of a jazz legend, and an approach to touring that didn’t leave her feeling “beaten to a pulp,” it’s been a year of revitalization and rebirth. In fact, she’s so inspired that she’s already been working on new songs for her next project, though she won’t reveal much about it—except with a metaphor. “I want the fans to be surprised,” she says. “But I will just tell you that it’s a wonderful, soul-searching experience. And it’s very unlike the last album in that way. I made that album on the road.Artpop was, you know, the acid-making record. And this record is like—my old self as a cadaver. And I’m just, I’m operating on my old self.”

Lady Gaga Style the fashionista made a stylish arrival by sporting a long ivory coloured luxurious faux fur coat sleek and elegant for a TV

She’s a world famous pop star with a penchant for dressing in bold ensembles.

But on Wednesday, Lady Gaga kept it sleek and elegant for a TV appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Dressed in a beautiful plunging white gown, complete with a shimmery silver netted overlay, the singer looked angelic as she strolled along the New York streets.

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 Lady Gaga kept it sleek and elegant for a TV appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday

She added height to the proceedings with an eye-catching pair of gold high-heeled shoes, while keeping her accessories to a minimum.

Wearing her blonde tresses in glamorous vintage-inspired waves, Gaga highlighted her facial features with silver eye shadow, lashings of black mascara and a touch of blusher.

Prior to her appearance, the 28-year-old spent the afternoon working on her fitness regime by heading to the gym.

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A vision: Wearing her blonde tresses in glamorous vintage-inspired waves, Gaga highlighted her facial features with silver eye shadow, lashings of black mascara and a touch of blusher

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Make way: Dressed in a beautiful plunging white gown, complete with a shimmery silver netted overlay, the singer looked angelic as she strolled along the New York streets

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Standing tall: She added height to the proceedings with an eye-catching pair of gold high-heeled shoes, while keeping her accessories to a minimum

In true Lady Gaga style, the fashionista made a stylish arrival by sporting a long ivory coloured luxurious faux fur coat.

She took to Twitter to write: ‘Off to Fallon! Can't wait to perform tonight w/ Tony, just left rehearsal. Time for a quick yoga sweat then showtime!’

The American star then made her way to yoga in her stunning ensemble, later sharing a photograph of the aftermath, as she was on her way back to prepare for her TV appearance.

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Keeping fit: Prior to her appearance, the 28-year-old spent the afternoon working on her fitness regime by heading to the gym

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Coming through: In true Lady Gaga style, the fashionista made a stylish arrival by sporting a long ivory coloured luxurious faux fur coat and silver heels

Gaga shared a snap of her in the car, along with the note, 'Done with yoga off to hair and makeup #halfhousewifehalfhooker'

Meanwhile, she has teamed up with music legend Tony Bennett for H&M’s latest campaign.

The Applause hitmaker and the iconic singer, who will be touring together next year following a New Year's Eve performance in Las Vegas, have also collaborated on Cheek To Cheek from their album of jazz classics.

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Letting her fans know: Gaga shared a snap of her in the car, along with the note, 'Done with yoga off to hair and makeup #halfhousewifehalfhooker'

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga will be performing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon starting at 11:35pm ET/10:35pm CT

Make sure to tune in to see their performance tonight starting at 11:35pm ET/10:35pm CT.

'Always a student!': Lady Gaga dons a black leotard to Show off some Impressive New Ballet moves #Gagallet Style

She's an expert when it comes to performing energetic dance moves for her stage shows.

But Lady Gaga proved she's still a keen learner as she showed off some new ballet moves - including two careful pirouettes - in a video she posted on Tuesday.

In the short Instagram clip the 28-year-old pop megastar can be seen gliding across the floor of a dance studio which she captioned: 'Always a student, only in death are we a master. #Gagallet I love ballet.'

Scroll down for video 

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Black Swan: Lady Gaga displayed some ballet moves in a video she shared to Instagram on Tuesday  #Gagallet Style

Lady Gaga displays one of her many talents: ballet

The Just Dance hitmaker can be seen in a black leotard, leggings and skirt as she dances and twirls with her hair pinned up in a neat bun and a full face of makeup.

Meanwhile, things appear to be going swimmingly in Gaga's romantic life as she is still dating hunky actor Taylor Kinney, 33, who currently stars in NBC's Chicago Fire.

In a saucy selfie shared to her social media on Sunday Gaga shows off oodles of cleavage and red pouty lips as she captioned: 'Waiting for my firefighter to come home for dinner.'  

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'Always a student': The 28-year-old pop star could be seen gliding across a dance studio floor  #Gagallet Style

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Graceful: Gaga wore a black leotard, leggings and a skirt for her dance session

The couple were spotted on an outing last week at the 37th Annual Kennedy Center Honors at the John F. Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts in Washington, DC.

In October, it was reported that Gaga and Taylor had taken their relationship to the next level by holding a 'commitment' ceremony to prove how dedicated they are to one another.

The twosome, who are not seen together in public very often, held the event at Joan Trattoria, a restaurant in New York owned by the pop star's parents.

An insider told the Daily Star newspaper: 'Gaga wanted something visual, a commitment ceremony with the people who matter the most.' 

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Twirling: The Just Dance hitmaker completed two pirouettes in the short clip

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Dramatic look: The star pinned her hair into a neat bun and appeared to have a full face of makeup on

'They don't have time to plan a wedding, so they decided they would have a small gathering to show the people they love most how committed they are to one another.

'It was just for her family and a few close art and designer friends.' 

Meanwhile, Gaga managed to make the top 30 highest paid musicians list by Forbes, announced last week. 

She came in at the number 30 spot tied with Drake, with the duo making a respectable $33 million each this year.

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Homemaker: On Sunday, Gaga shared a seductive snap as she waited for boyfriend Taylor Kinney to come home for dinner

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So in love: Gaga and Taylor are still going strong and were seen out together at the 37th Annual Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, DC last week