Sting Joins Lady Gaga To Perform ‘Stand By Me’ and ‘King of Pain’

Sting teamed up with Lady Gaga for a powerful duet of “Stand By Me” and his own Police classic, “King of Pain,” at the iHeartRadio Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, September 24.

As the stage remained dark, a familiar voice echoed, “Good evening Lady Gaga, nice to see you.” A grinning Lady Gaga, drenched in fake blood, introduced Sting in her uniquely heartfelt style:

“Ladies and gentlemen, the police are here—give it up for Sting! Sting is one of my favorite people in the whole world. When I started in this business, I met some truly amazing, legendary musicians, but they’re not always very nice. Sting, however, is one of the kindest and most loving people I’ve ever met. We’ve done this once before, and I thought we should do it again because, truth be told, Sting always stands by me.”

In true Gaga fashion, she playfully smeared some of her fake blood on Sting before they launched into their duet, with the crowd swaying along to the Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller classic. Both artists looked like they were having a blast, effortlessly showcasing their vocal prowess. They also performed “King of Pain” from the Police’s 1983 farewell album, *Synchronicity.*

One might wonder if Sting noticed the Joey Ramone Place street sign near Lady Gaga’s keyboard—a famously stolen sign in New York City. But as with everything in Gaga’s world, she somehow makes it work.