Bruno Mars nearly cancelled Grammy winning song 'Die With a Smile'

Bruno Mars was going to cancel the idea of making the hit track Die With a Smile with Lady Gaga.

Mars’ collaborator James Fauntleroy revealed that the singer decided not to carry out the demo until he heard about Gaga’s role in Joker: Folie à Deux.

The collaborator stated, “He [Bruno] was such a genius for pulling that out of the back of his subconscious memory because of the timing of that movie, which is also how Lady Gaga came into his mind as a collaborator.”

He continued, “Then when we found out that wasn’t gonna be a thing, he had already kind of started the ball rolling because the power of Bruno compels you."

When Bruno heard Lady playing the piano made the 40-year-old singer change his decision.

Gaga literally sat down like a musician, learnt the chords and the whole song right in that moment.

“And they were performing, singing it together. And that’s when I should have known it was going to be something special”, James told Variety.

Eventually, when the song came out it became a massive hit and even won the 2025 Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.