METALLICA's collaboration with pop superstar Lady Gaga at the 59th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles Sunday night (February 12) turned into something of a disaster when the Grammy sound crew did not turn frontman James Hetfield's mic on, forcing him to share the mic with Gaga after the first verse and chorus. That seemed to take the steam out of the song, although a scantily clad Gaga gamely gyrated around the stage and even dove into the audience at one point.
Sources connected to the production told TMZ everything was fine right before "Moth Into Flame" began, with Gaga and the band's line check going off without a hitch. However, between the mic check and the actual performance, a wire under the stage got unplugged by accident by a stagehand. They eventually fixed the unplugged wire with seconds left in the song.
As a further humiliation, presenter Laverne Cox did not even introduce METALLICA by name. At the end of the song, a visibly angry Hetfield hurled his guitar at a road crew member while kicking over his mic stand.
Watch the performance here.
METALLICA was up for a Grammy for "Best Rock Song" for the track "Hardwired" from its new album, "Hardwired... To Self-Destruct", but lost to the late David Bowie's "Blackstar".
Following the Grammy Awards, METALLICA played an intimate show for around 3,000 or so fans at the Hollywood Palladium.