Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars wow the Grammy Awards with 'California Dreamin' cover

3 February 2025, 11:22

An all-star duet does justice to The Mamas & the Papas.

Ahead of this year's Grammy Awards, there were serious discussions about postponing the event as a result of the serious wildfires that affected Southern California last month.

It was decided that the show must go on, but those affected by the disaster were close to the hearts of all at the event and watching around the world.

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That was especially clear with one of the performances of the night – a superstar duet of Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars.

But they didn't play one of either artist's many, many hits, nor did they play their own 'Die With a Smile' collaboration that was released last year and won the Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance on the night.

Instead, they decided to sing a stellar version of The Mamas & the Papas' 1960s classic 'California Dreamin''.

'California Dreamin'' was written by John and Michelle Phillips in 1963 and even though it was first recorded by Barry McGuire, it was Phillps' own group who made it a massive hit a couple of years later.

It was a number four single in the US on its release but its impact goes way beyond that or even its triple platinum status on both sides of the Atlantic.

The song has rightly been hailed as a cultural landmark and was later covered by the likes of America, the Beach Boys and Jose Feliciano.