Thania Garcia Lady Gaga appeared on the Academy Awards stage Sunday night to deliver a surprise performance of “Hold My Hand,” the Oscar-nominated song from “Top Gun: Maverick” — and the only thing more startling than that it happened at all, after earlier denials, was just how stripped-down, yet enormously effective, her reading of the song was.Lady Gaga performs a stripped-down version of "Hold My Hand" at the #Oscars. https://t.co/ndiKiHeOT5 pic.twitter.com/dLlahLTjht Gaga had originally been expected to skip the show due to the filming demands of the sequel “Joker: Folie à Deux,” but, in a speedy change of plans, the star was confirmed to be performing by Variety sources early Sunday morning. Befitting the last-minute nature of the performance, Gaga was more dressed-down than she’s ever been in a television performance, belting out her ballad in a T-shirt, shorts and with little apparent in the way of hair or makeup glam. The song got a surprisingly rootsy, rock-band production, as opposed to the far slicker soundtrack version, and was interrupted by whoops and hollers from a clearly captivated audience.