Some Las Vegas residencies sort of never end. Donny Osmond and Wayne Newton, for example, seem to be performing in perpetuity at Caesars Harrah’s and Flamingo respectively.
Other performers sign up for a residency with the idea that it will end at some point — even if that end gets put off multiple times.
Katy Perry, for example, closed her Resorts World residency last year after several years. Rod Stewart ended his very long-running show at Caesars Palace. will end his “The Hits” show, which ran for 13 years at Caesars Colosseum.
Related: Las Vegas Strip casino brings on country superstar for residency
Stewart, who seemed like his show would run forever, has not shared his future plans. Most residencies last for a planned number of shows spaced out over months.
Very few acts can steadily fill a room, even the smaller ones that usually host residencies unless they space out shows to make sure they’re reaching different groups of tourists.
Adele and Garth Brooks are almost certainly exceptions to that. So are U2 and Dead & Company which sold out dozens of shows at the 17,600-seat Las Vegas Sphere that were packed relatively close together.
Some artists end their residency because it’s time to change their creative vision. That’s what’s happening at MGM Resorts International (MGM) Dolby Live at Park MGM, where Lady Gaga is ending her “Jazz + Piano” residency on July 6.
Lady Gaga appears on stage.
Image source: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
Lady Gaga has been in Las Vegas since 2018
“Jazz + Piano” was actually one of two Gaga Las Vegas residency shows. “Enigma,” her first show, which also played at Park MGM’s Dolby Live beginning in 2018, was a more traditional play the hits-type show.
Both “Enigma” and “Jazz + Piano” were performed during that initial run which was stopped by the Covid pandemic.
MGM described “‘Enigma’ as a “brand-new odyssey of [Gaga’s] pop hits built as an experience unlike any other,” and ‘Lady Gaga Jazz & Piano’ “as featuring stripped-down versions of her songs accompanied by tracks from the Great American Songbook,” The Lady Gaga Wiki shared.
Gaga, never one for going small, called the shows”unlike anything I’ve done before. It will be a celebration of all that is unique and different within us. The challenges of bravery can be overcome with creativity and courage that is grown out of adversity, love and music,” according to a press release.
When the singer returned to Park MGM after the Covid shutdown, she only brought back “Jazz and Piano,” which Vegas.com describes as follows:
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“What can you expect in Lady Gaga’s show? The Grammy winner’s residency spotlights jazz standards and special renditions of her iconic hits like ‘Poker Face,’ ‘Paparazzi,’ ‘Bad Romance,’ and so many more. It also features selections from the Great American Songbook,” according to the website.
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Lady Gaga is leaving Las Vegas (for now)
Toward the end of her June 29 show, Gaga addressed the audience.
“We only have four shows left. We’ll be back. I can’t leave these guys. I love these guys too much,” she said during the show’s closing performance of “New York, New York, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
Gaga has not shared any plans for a new Las Vegas show, but she could return to a more traditional pop performance and put her jazz show on ice for a while.
The singer, who recorded two albums with legendary performer Tony Bennett. She performed some of his classics as well as songs that they recorded together as part of “Jazz + Piano.”
Bennett’s widow, Susan Benedetto was at the June 29 show as were her parents, Cynthia and Joe Germanotta.
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