Lady Gaga Is Not French — but She Feels a 'Special Connection with French People' as She Sings at Summer Olympics

Performing on the Seine river was a thrilling moment for Lady Gaga.

After delivering a gorgeous cover of Zizi Jeanmaire's "Mon Truc en Plumes" alongside the Seine river during the 2024 Summer Olympics opening ceremony on July 26, Gaga posted to Instagram and reflected on the moment in a lengthy caption.

"I feel so completely grateful to have been asked to open the Paris @Olympics 2024 this year," wrote the 38-year-old Grammy and Oscar winner alongside professional photos of her performance look.

"I am also humbled to be asked by the Olympics organizing committee to sing such a special French song—a song to honor the French people and their tremendous history of art, music, and theatre," said Gaga, before highlighting Jeanmaire's talents as a French ballerina and singer, who "famously" sang a version of "Mon Truc en Plumes" in 1961.

The "Bad Romance" musician explained that "Mon Truc en Plumes" translates from French to English as "My Thing with Feathers" — which certainly explains her show-stopping look at the opening ceremony — and added that she and Jeanmaire have "crossed paths" before.

"Zizi starred in Cole Porter’s musical 'Anything Goes' which was my first jazz release," said Gaga, referring to her collaboration with Tony Bennett in 2014.

She then referred to the significance of appearing at the Paris Olympics, specifically. "Although I am not a French artist, I have always felt a very special connection with French people and singing French music — I wanted nothing more than to create a performance that would warm the heart of France, celebrate French art and music, and on such a momentous occasion remind everyone of one of the most magical cities on earth — Paris," wrote the House of Gucci actress.

"We rented pom poms from Le Lido archive — a real French cabaret theater. We collaborated with Dior to create custom costumes, using naturally molted feathers," continued Gaga. "I studied French choreography that put a modern twist on a French classic."

"I rehearsed tirelessly to study a joyful French dance, brushing up on some old skills — I bet you didn’t know I used to dance at a 60’s French party on the lower east side when I was first starting out," she revealed.

"I hope you love this performance as much as I do," wrote Gaga. "And to everyone in France, thank you so much for welcoming me to your country to sing in honor of you — it’s a gift I’ll never forget! Congratulations to all the athletes who are competing in this year’s Olympic Games! It is my supreme honor to sing for you and cheer you on!! Watching the Olympic Games always makes me cry! Your talent is unimaginable. Let the games begin!"

In addition to her Olympics appearance, Gaga is working on new music gearing up for the release of her upcoming film, Joker Folie à Deux, in October.

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