A Star Is Born (2018 soundtrack)

In March 2015, Warner Bros. announced that Bradley Cooper was in talks to make his directorial debut with A Star Is Born, the fourth iteration of the 1937 film of the same name.^[1] American singer Lady Gaga was officially attached to the film in August 2016, with the studio green-lighting the project to begin production in early 2017.^[2] Cooper decided to cast Gaga after seeing her perform Édith Piaf's "La Vie en rose" (1947) at a charity event, which he said "blew [him] away" and led him to envision her as Ally.^[3] Gaga had performed the song for years before the film, and a rendition was later also recorded for the film and its soundtrack.^[4] In A Star Is Born, Cooper plays Jackson Maine, an established country singer who discovers and falls in love with Ally, a struggling singer-songwriter, portrayed by Gaga in her first lead feature-film role.^[5][6] Her rise to fame unfolds alongside his personal and professional decline, with Ally's success increasingly eclipsing Jackson’s fading career.^[5][7]

Cooper spent two-and-a-half years prepping for the film and determining what kind of musician his character would be.^[8] Gaga "helped inform Cooper's performance as a musician", advising him, "Work, and then you'll figure [it] out".^[6][8] As part of the preparations, Cooper set up a six-month "boot camp" at his Los Angeles home, where he learned guitar and piano and trained his voice to sing like a seasoned professional.^[3] He worked with vocal coach Roger Love and other musicians. Cooper said that, by the end of the process, Jackson "started developing into his own sort of creation"; if he had had another year of preparation, the character's music would have been "complete rock", but instead became "some sort of hybrid".^[8]

Cooper described the soundtrack "an evolution, like the story."^[9] Gaga and Cooper were writing songs for the soundtrack during filming, with each track going through numerous iterations.^[9] Cooper added that "the music really became a character in the movie. There is no lyric that's ever in any point of the movie that doesn't have exactly to do with where one of them is or hopes to be or regrets being. That was our launching pad and then it was just about discovering what songs fit in the right places."^[9] Changes to the film's script also influenced the music; for example, "Shallow" was initially conceived as a solo song by Ally for the end credits, when the story ended with Jackson dying by drowning—an idea that informed the song's imagery—before it was reworked into a central love song between the film's protagonists.^[10][11]

Jason Isbell wrote "Maybe It's Time" to help define Cooper's character, Jackson. Initially reluctant to participate, he agreed after reading the screenplay, which he described as "honest and human".^[12] He sent the song to Cooper via Dave Cobb, a Nashville-based producer he had been working with, who later played it for Gaga and Cooper during a writing session in Los Angeles, where it impressed them and helped set the tone for the soundtrack.^[13][4] The song became Jackson's signature song, and Cooper later called it "the staple, the sword with which a lot of the music spawned from [him]" for the rest of the album.^[13] Cooper approached Lukas Nelson after seeing him perform at Desert Trip in October 2016 and asked him to work on the film as a music consultant.^[14] Nelson said he began "writing songs for the movie, just for the heck of it, and sending them over to the producer, and they started liking them. Then Lady Gaga came by and I met her and we clicked. We became good friends, and we started writing together."^[15] Gaga, in turn, provided backing vocals on two tracks on Nelson's self-titled album released in 2017.^[16] Nelson and his band, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, appear in the film as Cooper's backing band.^[8]

The soundtrack saw Lady Gaga reunite with songwriters she had previously worked with, including DJ White Shadow, Diane Warren, Hillary Lindsey, and Mark Ronson (clockwise, from top left).

Gaga reunited with producer Mark Ronson and songwriter Hillary Lindsey, who had both contributed to her previous studio album Joanne (2016).^[8] According to Ronson, his previous collaboration with Gaga on Joanne helped establish the creative intimacy behind "Shallow", which she wrote in character as Ally while also drawing on her own emotions and personal experiences.^[17] Gaga worked with recurring collaborator Paul "DJ White Shadow" Blair^[a] on the soundtrack's more pop-oriented numbers performed by her character Ally, as well as producers such as Nick Monson and Mark Nilan.^[4] Monson recalled that Gaga was deeply immersed in her role while writing and recording, often discarding vocal takes if she felt they did not align with how Ally would perform them, and described the sessions as highly improvisational, requiring collaborators to quickly adapt to her ideas.^[4] Blair described the songwriting process as a "moving target", with multiple songs and iterations created for each moment in the film, and said that Ally's material was written separately "in a bubble" to preserve the character's perspective.^[19] Diane Warren—previously a collaborator on "Til It Happens to You" (2015)—contributed songwriting on "Why Did You Do That?", which she said was written as a "cool and fun" pop song, with a "bit of a retro/modern feel" outside her usual style.^[4]

The songwriting process often continued directly into recording; for example, "Always Remember Us This Way" was recorded immediately after being written, with its songwriters also providing backing vocals during the session.^[4][20] During Gaga's Joanne World Tour (2017–2018), parts of the soundtrack were written and recorded on a mobile studio set up on her tour bus, where she and her collaborators would continue working on songs after her shows.^[4] As the album neared completion, last-minute changes were still being made in the studio; Monson recalled that string arrangements for songs such as "I Don't Know What Love Is" were expanded shortly before recording, and that an additional arrangement for "Before I Cry" was created and recorded within hours during the same session.^[4] For the film's closing performance of "I'll Never Love Again", multiple versions of the song were prepared in different tempos and keys so that the delivery could be adjusted during filming.^[21] The scene was recorded shortly after Gaga learned of the death of her close friend Sonja Durham, which informed the emotional intensity of the live vocal.^[22]

Much of the film's music was created through a hybrid production process that combined live vocals with pre-recorded instrumentation. Much of the film's music was created through a hybrid production process shaped by Gaga's insistence on avoiding lip-syncing. Vocals were recorded live on set, while instrumental tracks were typically recorded in advance and played back during filming to ensure continuity between takes. To further enhance realism, the production team captured the acoustic characteristics of each venue so the performances would match their onscreen environments. Concert scenes were often filmed in front of large groups of extras, including invited fans, who generally could not hear the backing music during takes because it was played through earpieces to prevent unreleased material from leaking; their reactions were recorded separately and incorporated into the final mix. According to engineer Benjamin Rice, the recordings were designed to sound live in the studio—raw, natural, and gritty—while each song was shaped around the story and the contrasting musical identities of Jackson and Ally. For example, Cooper envisioned "Out of Time" as a gradually building song meant to draw Ally toward the stage, mirroring the scene in which she is persuaded to join Jackson in concert. For the soundtrack album, Gaga and Rice reworked the film recordings into album mixes and incorporated dialogue excerpts to retain narrative context.^[21][23][24]

The soundtrack of A Star Is Born has been described as primarily a pop^[25][26] and blues rock album.^[27][28] It also incorporates elements of country, rock, folk rock,^[29] electropop,^[27] and dance-pop.^[28] An article by Paper divided the songs of the album into two categories: earthy tracks reminiscent of Joanne's rootsy style, and upbeat pop songs in the vein of Gaga's on-screen persona, Ally.^[30] The soundtrack conveys the film's plot through its musical progression, moving from Jackson's Americana through the pair's duets to Ally's flashier pop material, before culminating in "I'll Never Love Again".^[31] The album blends live and studio recordings with ambient noise and audience feedback, helping recreate the atmosphere of the film and its concert performances.^[32] According to Billboard's Karen Bliss, its lyrics are about wanting change, its struggle, love, romance, and bonding, describing the music as largely "timeless, emotional, gritty and earnest. They sound like songs written by artists who, quite frankly, are supremely messed up but hit to the core of the listener."^[33]

Cooper's solo tracks are in the genre of blues rock.^[27] "Black Eyes" is a rock and roll song with a grunge sound that opens with a blaring electric guitar;^[25][31][34] it has been compared to the style of Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder.^[35] "Maybe It's Time" is an acoustic country-rock ballad performed in Cooper's husky baritone.^[36][37] Its lyrics reflect Jackson's recognition that he, and what he represents, must give way to others, while contemplating mortality, missed opportunities, and change.^[38][39][40] "Out of Time" is a guitar solo that serves as the instrumental lead-in to "Alibi",^[39][37] a track featuring Cooper's "snarly" vocals over piano and screeching guitars.^[25][34] Its lyrics offer a glimpse into Jackson's sordid lifestyle.^[34] "Too Far Gone" is a brief, emotionally tender country song, in which Jackson admits his shortcomings and reveals how his relationship with Ally redeemed him.^[41][42] It is driven by slide guitar, gentle piano, and a languid drum rhythm.^[34]

Gaga's solo tracks include a cabaret rendition of "La Vie en rose", on which she employs backphrasing by singing slightly behind the beat, allowing space for her vibrato to unfold.^[43][44] "Look What I Found" is a funky piano pop track inspired by musical theatre that relies on Gaga's upper register.^[28][39][45] Critics have compared it to Gaga's pre-The Fame material and the music of Carole King.^[30][43] Its lyrics capture the thrilling excitement of a new crush.^[28] The "moody" synth-pop track "Heal Me" utilizes a doctor metaphor for love;^[26][29][46] it has drawn comparisons to 1990s R&B and Mariah Carey's sound.^[45][44] "Hair Body Face" is a bass-filled pop song with an "urban dance groove",^[37][43] compared to music by Britney Spears and tracks from The Fame.^[47][29][48] Its lyrics address Ally's insecurities about her appearance, while the chorus offers redemption as she gains confidence from a lover urging her to ignore others' opinions.^[47] "Is That Alright?" is a vulnerable piano ballad, reminiscent of Adele's songs, in which Gaga shifts from belting to soft whispers as Ally pledges lifelong love to Jackson.^[49][43][48] "Why Did You Do That?" has been described as a campy dance-pop and retro-disco track, interspersed with xylophones in the beat.^{[48][50][31][51]} Its flirtatious lyrics–including the line "Why'd you come around me with an ass like that?"–and its repetitive chorus emphasize Ally's shift into a more bubbly, mainstream pop persona.^{[51][52][53][19]} "Before I Cry" is a "soaring", "somber" ballad about the aftermath of an argument.^[48][37][47] "Always Remember Us This Way" and "I'll Never Love Again" are power ballads, inspired by the music of the 1970s.^[43] The former reflects on the peak of a relationship with fondness and gratitude,^[54][37] while the latter deals with love and loss, with Gaga's vocal performance drawing comparisons to Whitney Houston's.^[55][45][25] Alongside the extended solo version, the soundtrack also contains the film edit of "I'll Never Love Again", which at its climax shifts from the orchestral performance to Cooper's acoustic rendition in a flashback of Jackson first singing the song to Ally.^[56][26]

"Music to My Eyes"

A 19-second sample of "Music to My Eyes", illustrating the soundtrack's rootsy country-rock sound, and the romantic connection the song conveys between Ally and Jackson.

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Problems playing this file? See media help.

The album includes several duets between Cooper and Gaga, in which Jackson's music gradually becomes softer as Ally brings a sense of emotional warmth into his life.^[57] "Shallow" evolves from a country song into a power ballad as Gaga moves into her higher vocal range in the chorus.^[48] Its lyrics depict Jackson and Ally questioning whether they are satisfied with who they are, while addressing stardom, addiction, and emotional vulnerability through a drowning metaphor.^[10][58][59] "Music to My Eyes" is a country-rock love ballad, inspired by the music of the 1950s, that portrays how collaborating on music brings Ally and Jackson closer together.^[48][31][42] "Diggin' My Grave" is a swampy, groove-driven blues song featuring Cooper's natural blues phrasing and Gaga's belting; its lyrics reflect on death and the loved ones left behind to lay the singer to rest.^[41][48][42] "I Don't Know What Love Is" is a soft rock duet whose lyrics center on the pair's declarations of love.^[29][48] Critics compared its interplay to Gaga's collaborations with Tony Bennett, while noting that her vocal delivery recalls Amy Winehouse.^[44][37]

The album's track list and release date were announced on August 30, 2018.^[5] Interscope Records described the soundtrack as containing 19 songs spanning multiple musical styles and 15 dialogue tracks intended to mirror the experience of watching the film.^[60] Commenting on this format, AllMusic's Erlewine wrote that it recalls Disney soundtrack records from the 1960s or 1970s, which often included dialogue to recreate the film experience.^[31] The soundtrack was released on October 5, 2018, on CD, vinyl, and digital formats,^[61][62] with an additional version omitting the dialogue excerpts made available exclusively via digital download and streaming platforms.^[63][64] The cover artwork was photographed by Peter Lindbergh and Clay Enos.^[65]

The soundtrack was released as a Special Deluxe Edition on December 14, 2018, which included the album on CD along with an exclusive fold-out poster booklet, three film posters, a 16-page photobook, and matte-finished clamshell box packaging with gold-foil text.^[66] Another version, the Limited Edition Soundtrack Collection, was released on April 12, 2019 as a two-piece, individually numbered box set with a gold-foil stamp, containing the soundtrack on exclusive gold-colored vinyl and standard CD, alongside an Ally-inspired lyric journal, five posters, four pieces of sheet music, ten lithographs, and two glossy publicity photos.^[67]

The album was also packaged together with the film in the A Star is Born - VIP Pass Edition, issued on November 25, 2019. The release includes the theatrical and "Encore" version of the film on blu-ray, the soundtrack on CD, three limited edition posters, a 32-page booklet and six exclusive artcards.^[68] Further bundle editions including both the soundtrack and the film were made available in select markets.^[69][70]

Promotion

Main articles: Shallow, Always Remember Us This Way, and I'll Never Love Again

As the songs were considered integral to the film's narrative, Interscope and Warner Bros. decided against releasing the soundtrack in advance, believing that doing so would spoil key scenes for audiences. As a result, the album was issued simultaneously with the film. The only exception was "Shallow", which was released as the lead single on September 27, 2018, after strong demand generated by the trailer and the film's early international premieres.^[71] The song was lauded by critics^[72] and enjoyed sustained commercial success well beyond its release, spending 45 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100^[b] and remaining on multiple European charts for months.^[73][74][75]

In December 2018, Gaga added "Shallow" as the encore to her Las Vegas residency, Enigma.^[76] During the show on January 26, 2019, Cooper joined Gaga for the performance.^[77] The same year, Gaga sang "Shallow" solo at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards in a glam rock rendition, accompanied on stage by the song's co-writers.^[78][79] Two weeks later, she reunited with Cooper to present it at the 91st Academy Awards. The performance was staged with the pair emerging from the audience and singing side by side at a piano, culminating in a close, shared-microphone finale.^[80][81] It was widely praised by critics, with some calling it the standout musical moment of the ceremony and highlighting the duo's onstage chemistry and intimate delivery.^[c]

Two further critically well-received^[d] singles followed in select territories. "Always Remember Us This Way" was released to radio in Italy and France in January 2019,^[90][91] with "I'll Never Love Again" following on French contemporary hit radio on May 27, 2019.^[92] They peaked at numbers 41 and 36 on the US Billboard Hot 100, respectively,^[93] and reached the top 20 in several international territories.^[e] Music videos for the three singles, as well as for "Look What I Found", were also released, featuring clips from the film.^{[106][107][108][30]}

More information Aggregate scores, Source ...

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	78/100[109]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[31]
Consequence	B[39]
The Daily Telegraph	[43]
The Guardian	[25]
The New Zealand Herald	[110]
NME	[111]
Pitchfork	7.4/10[27]
Rolling Stone	[56]
Slant Magazine	[41]
The Times	[112]

Close

The soundtrack received positive response from critics.^{[113][114][115]} At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album has an average score of 78, based on 8 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[109]

Mark Kennedy of The Washington Post called the soundtrack a "five-star marvel" and stated that it is a possible contender to win a Grammy Award.^[29] Nick Reilly of NME complimented the album's "emotionally charged songs that feel entirely appropriate for this heartfelt tale of doomed romance", adding that the album is "one of the best Hollywood soundtracks of recent years."^[111] Writing for The A.V. Club, Gwen Ihnat described the soundtrack as "an enjoyable yet poignant roller coaster of a listen".^[35] Rolling Stone's Brittany Spanos wrote that the album's early songs are "almost impenetrably perfect", praising their romantic yet powerful tone and suggesting they "should've been the template" for the rootsy direction Gaga pursued on Joanne. She added that as the soundtrack shifts to Ally's pop career, it delivers a run of catchy, The Fame-style singles that remain "deliciously fun" despite reflecting her artistic compromise.^[56]

AllMusic's Erlewine wrote, "All the songs make sense narratively and on their own, so they hold together well and would amount to a first-rate soundtrack", but criticized the dialogue included in the album.^[31] Wren Graves of Consequence felt the soundtrack succeeds largely due to the chemistry between the duo, praising Cooper's "professional-quality voice" and Gaga's ability to "play in different musical sandboxes". Although noting that the dialogue interludes and filler tracks sometimes "kill the emotional energy" of the album, he concluded that its "real joy" and "pleasure in the making of art" make it a compelling and authentic soundtrack.^[39]

Ben Beaumont-Thomas of The Guardian acknowledged that "Bradley Cooper shows he can sing as well as act and direct", but that "it is Lady Gaga's pop prowess that lifts each track, be it spectacular piano ballads or heart-rending duets".^[25] George Fenwick of The New Zealand Herald especially praised the second half of the album, and felt that while Cooper has strong vocals, he cannot keep up with Gaga, who "eventually steals the entire soundtrack."^[110] Similarly, Carl Wilson of Slate wrote that the soundtrack contains some of Gaga's "most stunning musical moments" of her career, while Cooper's performances are less compelling when heard apart from the film.^[116]

Larry Fitzmaurice of Pitchfork wrote that, at its best, the soundtrack "delivers on the promise of its star-wattage with some of the most affecting and emotionally overwhelming pop songs of the year". He considered the soundtrack's three singles its highlights, described "Maybe It's Time" as having a "quiet radiance", but found Cooper's other songs less distinctive and some of Ally's pop tracks weaker. Fitzmaurice concluded that the soundtrack was ultimately more effective within the context of the film than as a standalone listening experience.^[27] Craig Jenkins of Vulture felt the film "shines brightest in its music", praising the soundtrack's emotional impact and the contrast between Jackson's sturdy, time-worn songs and Ally's more modern pop material. He found Cooper strongest on the sadder songs, but thought his heavier rock numbers were less convincing and some of Ally's later pop tracks weaker than Gaga's more soulful performances.^[28] Patrick Ryan of USA Today wrote that the soundtrack proves "Shallow" was "no fluke", praising Gaga's ballads as among its standout moments and describing Cooper as a convincing musical performer, though he felt Ally's more commercial pop songs are intentionally bland and less memorable.^[117]

Chris DeVille of Stereogum opined that the soundtrack succeeds both as a narrative companion to the film and as a standalone pop record, though he wrote that it "could stand to go off the deep end more often".^[26] By contrast, Matt Miller of Esquire argued that many of the soundtrack's songs are so closely woven into the film's plot, emotional arc, and themes that they feel "fundamentally incomplete" on their own.^[40] Writing for The Daily Telegraph, Neil McCormick gave the album a moderately positive review, describing it as enjoyable but criticizing its "slightly awkward journey from rock balladry to slickly superficial pop" and the "weird disconnect" that emerges when it shifts into "anodyne modern pop".^[43] In a mixed review for Slant Magazine, Jeremy Winograd wrote that "there's undoubtedly a strong 10-song album lodged at the core of A Star Is Born", but argued that, unlike the film, whose emotional excess is grounded by the cast's restrained performances, the soundtrack lacks enough substance "to justify all the bombast."^[41] Will Hodgkinson of The Times was more negative, writing that the album "sounds like a dreary collection of earnest heartland rock", while adding that Gaga provides its main highlights through her expressive vocals and that Cooper's contributions are more generic.^[112]

The song "Why Did You Do That?" drew divided reactions, with some critics debating whether its trite lyrics and repetitive style were intentionally crafted to reflect Ally's shift into second-rate commercial pop.^[f] Diane Warren said it was meant to be fun and unserious rather than "bad", while Paul Blair argued that Jackson would have rejected any such song out of resentment over Ally's success. Gaga described it as the "antithesis" of where the character began, calling it "relatively shallow".^[52][19][53]

The A Star is Born soundtrack has sold more than 1.2 million copies worldwide. It was the fourth best-selling album of 2019 globally, and ranked second among female artists, behind Taylor Swift's Lover (3.2 million).^[131] Fuelled by the success of the soundtrack, Gaga also ranked as the ninth best-selling artist of 2019 globally, and fourth female overall, behind Swift, Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande.^[132] Worldwide, the album went on to sell 3.1 million copies by the end of 2019, and six million equivalent units overall.^{[133][134][135]}

North America

A Star Is Born opened atop the US Billboard 200 with 231,000 album-equivalent units, including 162,000 pure album sales. It had the biggest overall sales week for a soundtrack in over three years, and is Gaga's fifth US number-one album as well as Cooper's first. Besides its pure album sales, A Star Is Born earned 37,000 in stream-equivalent units and 32,000 from track-equivalent units.^[136] The soundtrack spent a second week at number one there with 143,000 album-equivalent units (86,000 being pure sales), and became Gaga's second album to top the chart for two consecutive weeks after Born This Way (2011).^[137] It then held the top spot for a third week in a row with 109,000 equivalent units (61,000 pure sales), becoming the first soundtrack since High School Musical 2 in 2007 to top the chart for its first three weeks. Additionally, it became Gaga's longest running chart-topping album in the country.^[138] A Star Is Born was displaced one week later by Andrea Bocelli's Sì.^[139] The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it double platinum for over two million album-equivalent units, while pure sales surpassed one million copies by March 2019.^[140][141] Following the 91st Academy Awards, the soundtrack returned to the top of Billboard 200 for a fourth non-consecutive week with 128,000 album-equivalent units (76,000 pure sales) on the chart dated March 9, becoming Gaga's longest running number-one album in the country and the first soundtrack to do so since Frozen (2013).^[142] The soundtrack went on to remain on the chart for 103 weeks.^[143] As of August 2019, the soundtrack has sold 1,148,000 copies within the United States,^[144] while it has earned 2.7 million equivalent album units in the country, according to Billboard's report in September 2020.^[145]

The soundtrack entered at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 18,000 equivalent units, earning the top sales and digital song download honors and the seventh highest on-demand streams for the week. It was Gaga's third album to reach the summit in the nation and her first since Born This Way.^[146] A Star Is Born held the top position for the next week, with another 12,000 equivalent units and was also the top-selling album.^[147] It had an 11% increase in sales during the third week and remained atop the charts, selling close to 14,000 equivalent units. Like in the United States, the soundtrack became Gaga's longest running chart-topping album in Canada.^[148] By the year-end, the soundtrack had sold 92,000 copies (155,000 equivalent units) in the country according to Nielsen SoundScan, and was certified Platinum by Music Canada (MC).^[149][150] The Academy Awards boosted the soundtrack up to its tenth week at the top of the charts, selling another 12,000 units.^[151]

Notes

• ^{^[a]} – additional vocal production
• ^{^[b]} – additional production
• ^{^[c]} – main and additional production
• ^{^[d]} – vocal production

Personnel adapted from A Star Is Born soundtrack liner notes and AllMusic.^[65][179]