Lady Gaga’s ‘Top Gun’ Song ‘Hold My Hand’ Is a ‘Love Letter to the World’

New music from Lady Gaga is on the way — and Little Monsters have Top Gun: Maverick to thank. On Wednesday, Gaga announced that she will release the soundtrack’s lead single, “Hold My Hand,” on May 3.

“When I wrote this song for Top Gun: Maverick, I 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,” Gaga tweeted about the track Wednesday. “I’ve been working on it for years, perfecting it, trying to make it ours.”

Gaga said the track is “a love letter to the world during and after a very hard time,” and that she’s wanted her fans to listen to it for a long time.

“I wanted to make music into a song where we share our deep need to both be understood and try to understand each other — a longing to be close when we feel so far away and an ability to celebrate life’s heroes,” she wrote.

The song was produced by Gaga and BloodPop and is expected to be incorporated into the film’s score, which is being led by Hans Zimmer and Harold Faltermeyer.

The song is the first taste of music from Gaga since releasing Love for Sale alongside Tony Bennett. It’s also her return to music soundtracks since winning the Academy Award for “Shallow” with Bradley Cooper, after starring in A Star Is Born.


Gaga has been teasing the release of the new song for several days, tweeting some of the lyrics. “Hold my hand everything will be OK I heard from the heavens that clouds have been grey,” she tweeted earlier this week. She later wrote, “Pull me close wrap me in your aching arms I see that you’re hurtin’” and “Why’d you take so long to tell me you need me.”

The long-awaited sequel to the 1986 film has been in the works for years. It was originally set to release in 2019, but was postponed to “work out all the complex flight sequences.” Then it was delayed once more due to the pandemic. The film stars Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, John Hamm, Glen Powell, among others. It premieres on May 27.