Hold My Hand

"Hold My Hand" is a song by American singer Lady Gaga, released on May 3, 2022, through Interscope Records. It is the lead single to the soundtrack for the film Top Gun: Maverick (2022). The song was written and produced by Gaga and BloodPop as "a love letter to the world during and after a very hard time". Benjamin Rice received additional production credits. Musically, "Hold My Hand" is a "hopeful" arena rock track, featuring an anthemic chorus and an electric guitar. "Hold My Hand" reached number one in Croatia, number five in Hungary and Switzerland, number six in Wallonia, and the top 30 in Australia, Canada, Flanders, Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore, Slovakia, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom. It was met with mixed to positive response. Critics noted its inspiration derived from 1980s power ballads, the decade in which the original Top Gun (1986) was released. "Hold My Hand" won the Satellite Award for Best Original Song and received various nominations at awards shows, including the Academy Award for Best Original Song, the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media, and the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Song. An accompanying music video was directed by Joseph Kosinski, director of Top Gun: Maverick, and premiered on May 6, 2022. It featured Gaga performing the song in various settings, interspersed with scenes from the two Top Gun films. "Hold My Hand" served as the encore for Gaga's 2022 stadium tour, The Chromatica Ball. She also performed the song in a stripped-down rendition at the 95th Academy Awards. Background and release In April 2021, gossip website ShowBiz 411 reported that Lady Gaga would be involved with the soundtrack for Top Gun: Maverick. The rumor spread to other publications, including W magazine. In April 2022, Gaga began posting cryptic messages on Twitter, which fans interpreted as lyrics to the rumored song. She formally announced "Hold My Hand" and its release date on April 27, 2022. During the announcement, Gaga shared that she was working on the song for years, and "didn't even realize the multiple layers it spanned across the film's heart, my own psyche, and the nature of the world we've been living in" while writing it.