Shallow (Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper song)

, Los Angeles where Gaga and Cooper recorded and filmed the sequence for "Shallow"|alt=A far-away shot of an open-air theater. Gaga collaborated with Mark Ronson, with whom she had produced her fifth studio album, Joanne (2016), to develop the soundtrack for this version of the film A Star Is Born. Its lyrics become the basis of "Shallow", the full version of which is used in a sequence when Jackson strides onto the stage at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles and sings the opening verses. Their performance goes viral and launches her music career. The track becomes a staple of her concerts. The song is used briefly for a third time when she sings it at The Forum. To film the "Shallow" sequence, Cooper filled the Greek Theater with around 2,000 Gaga fans and then recorded the song. Following the filming, Gaga entertained the crowd playing piano versions of her old songs; Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real also sang at the venue. "Shallow" was first heard during a teaser trailer for A Star Is Born in June 2018, where it appeared around the 1:46 mark with Gaga starting to belt the final chorus. The sequence was immediately made into many Internet memes. One week before the film's release, Interscope confirmed that "Shallow" would be released as the first single from the soundtrack on September 27, 2018. Gaga premiered it on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 radio show while being interviewed about the film. An accompanying music video was released showing Gaga and Cooper's in-movie characters singing "Shallow" onstage, interspersed with various scenes from A Star Is Born. The song was released as a digital download to the iTunes Store, YouTube and Spotify. In the United States, "Shallow" was sent to hot adult contemporary radio on October 15, 2018, and the next day it was added to contemporary hit radio panels. ==Writing and recording==

"Shallow" was written by Gaga, Ronson, Dirty Pretty Things' Anthony Rossomando and Miike Snow's Andrew Wyatt. She had played the melody to her collaborators two years earlier in a recording studio in Malibu. The songwriting sessions included Gaga at the piano and Ronson, Wyatt and Rossomando on guitar as they tried to come up with the verses. Ronson explained the original draft of the script had Jackson dying by drowning, which led Gaga to write the lyrics, "I'm off the deep end watch as I dive in". Initially, "Shallow" was an end credits song, but when the script changed it became a love song about Jackson and Ally. Seeing the first trailer for the film, Ronson decided not to refine the track anymore and kept it as the final mix. For Gaga, the conversational nature of the lyrics helped to set up Shallow's aria, which she recorded with a falsetto voice. She also came up with the play on the song title "Shallow", "In the sha-ha, sha-ha-ha-low" lyrics. ==Composition and lyrical interpretation==

A slow-burning rock, folk-pop and country Ronson believed that working with Gaga on Joanne allowed the singer to delve into a more personal songwriting with "Shallow". The lyrics have both characters asking each other if they are satisfied being who they are. They demonstrate self-awareness, portraying "the gains and pains of stardom", Copyright claim Singer-songwriter Steve Ronsen claimed that the hook of "Shallow" is based on the same three-note progression sequence - G, A, B - from his track "Almost" (2012). Ronsen and his lawyer Mark D. Shirian are asking for millions of dollars in a settlement. Gaga has hired lawyer Orin Snyder, who said "Mr Ronsen and his lawyer are trying to make easy money off the back of a successful artist. It is shameful and wrong." He added, "Should Mr. Shirian proceed with this case, Lady Gaga will fight it vigorously and will prevail." ==Critical reception==

"Shallow" received widespread critical acclaim. Nicole Engelman of Billboard described the song as a strong ballad and a "stunning duet" featuring "striking harmony" between Gaga and Cooper. Carrie Wittmer of Business Insider and Papers Katherine Gillespie compared Cooper's vocals to those of singer-songwriter Eddie Vedder. Wittmer felt they complemented Gaga's "empowering and distinct voice". Several critics felt that "Shallow" was worthy of a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Pitchforks Eve Barlow commended Gaga's performance, noting the theme "may prove to be Gaga's own apex in the spotlight, her completion into superstar of charts and screen". She wrote that although Cooper did not have "the deep growl of Kris Kristofferson (who played the lead male character in the 1976 film) [he] pulls off the earnestness required to hand over [to Gaga]". Joey Morona of The Plain Dealer described it as a "mesmerizing duet" that "inspires you, then punches you in the gut before lifting you back up again," and said it is just as effective in evoking strong emotions as Adele's "Someone Like You" (2011). Ben Beaumont-Thomas of The Guardian noted how "moments before she makes the octave jump for the big chorus, [Gaga's] face flickers with terror", adding the track is "torrid yet robust, and truly outstanding". Jenny Stevens, also a Guardian reviewer, complimented the lyrics for portraying the "inevitable comedown, the isolation and the untethered moments on the road when addiction can trample over a psyche". Stevens compared Gaga's vocals to those in Fleetwood Mac songs for their "raw, guttural, powerful" delivery and the ill-fated romance it heralds. Spins Maggie Serota felt Cooper was convincing "as a grizzled, whiskey-throated troubadour", and that the ballad "gives Lady Gaga a chance to show off her impressive pipes". Maeve McDermott of the Chicago Sun-Times praised "Shallow" for elevating A Star Is Born "from normal blockbuster fare to a masterwork of the form". She feels the "rapturous reception of [the track] was the most universally excited reaction to any Lady Gaga song in recent memory". Jon Pareles of The New York Times rated it the "most boffo track" from the album and complimented its "exponential buildup" and Gaga's "throaty and breathy to full-scale belting". He felt "Shallow" was an immediate sequel to Gaga's "Million Reasons", but contained characteristic stuttered repeated syllables in the chorus, like her earlier songs, "Poker Face" and "Paparazzi" (both 2009). In another review, Jon Caramanica, from the same newspaper, described the song as a "good, old-fashioned, sound-of-the-1970s, gumption-of-the-1980s, high-treacle-higher-pomp roots ballad", writing that Gaga's vocal "throbs intensely here, leaning deep into the natural husk of her voice". NPR's Lars Gotrich felt "Shallow" is a "quiet, reflective country croon", describing Cooper as having "a sweet and amiable set of pipes" while Gaga as a "theater kid [...] roar[s] in at the chorus... growling the last word as if every rejection, every ex, every barrier embodies it. Beyond the shallow end of life, they embrace the deep." Writing in Esquire magazine, Matt Miller was initially ambivalent towards the song, feeling it was just "two hooks from the trailer stitched into one song" and had a "meh" response to it. However, after watching the film he changed his opinion, saying "it mostly lives up to expectations—specifically, the first part of the movie and the build-up to when you first hear [it being performed]". In an article published by Spotify analyzing "Shallow"s importance, the writer describes it as the film's "hero song", the first to "truly cover the topic" of the "dangers of Hollywood, fame, and stardom" themes prevalent in A Star Is Born. ==Legacy==

From its release, "Shallow" received universal acclaim and is considered among the best songs from any movie soundtrack of all time by many critics. As for the song's impact on society, in an interview with Elle, Gaga states that "I really believe in my heart that the unfortunate truth is that our cell phones are becoming reality", she said. "It's become reality for the world. And in this song we provide not just a conversation, but also a very poignant statement. I wish not to be in the shallow, but I am. I wish to dive off the deep end, but watch me do it. I think this is something that speaks to many people, and during, I think, a very shallow time, it's a chance for us all to grab hands and dive into the water together and swim into the deepest depths of the water that we can." ==Commercial performance==

On the second week after its debut, "Shallow" topped the Digital Songs chart, selling 58,000 copies (Gaga's sixth chart-topper), and entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 28. Following the film's release on October 5, 2018, "Shallow" rose to number five on the Hot 100 and ran for a total of 45 weeks on that chart. It also topped the Digital Songs chart for a second consecutive week, selling 71,000 copies. The song marked Gaga's fifteenth top-ten entry on the chart and Cooper's first; it became Gaga's first Top Ten since 2017 with her track "Million Reasons". Shortly after the film's Academy Awards nominations, the track moved back into the top-twenty on the Hot 100, with sales increasing by 50%. One week after the Academy Awards, the song surged to the top of the Hot 100, becoming Gaga's fourth number-one single and Cooper's first, and returned to the top of the Digital Songs chart, selling 115,000 copies. It entered the Streaming Songs chart top-ten for the first time, with 27.3 million streams. The track became Gaga's longest running Digital Songs chart topper with ten weeks in the peak position, as well as longest-running number-one song by a female lead singer. The song accumulated 23.3 million audience impressions debuting at number 50 on the Radio Songs chart It became Gaga's eighth top 10 on the Adult Pop Songs airplay chart (number two peak) becoming her fastest flight to the tier, topping the five-week climb of "Born This Way" and reached number two on the Adult Contemporary chart. The song debuted at number 16 on the Canadian Hot 100. It reached the top of the charts in March 2019, becoming Gaga's fifth number-one single and Cooper's first. In Australia, "Shallow" debuted at number 25 on the ARIA Singles Chart, before reaching number one two weeks later. It became Gaga's fourth song to reach the top, her first since "Born This Way", and Cooper's first. The track was the best-selling digital download for the week. It also reached the top of the radio airplay charts according to The Music Network. "Shallow" has since held the summit for five non-consecutive weeks. It has been certified sixteen times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). and reached number six the following week. It sold another 36,952 units, becoming Gaga's 12th top-ten song in the nation. It also reached the top-ten on the UK Airplay Charts, vaulting from number 62 to number eight, with total audience impressions of 48.83 million. For the week ending November 1, 2018, "Shallow" reached the top of the UK Singles Chart for two weeks becoming her fifth number one (her first since "Telephone" in 2010) and Cooper's first. The same week, A Star Is Born also returned to the top of the UK Albums Chart, giving Gaga and Cooper an Official UK Chart double, this being Gaga's third. After Gaga and Cooper's performance of the song at the 91st Academy Awards ceremony, it rose ten places to number 11 from number 21 on the UK Singles Chart for the week ending March 1, 2019. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) awarded a sextuple platinum certification to the track for accumulating 3.6 million equivalent sales units in the UK; by February 2025, the song had sold a total of 3.6 million equivalent sales in the country with a total of 470 million streams, making it Gaga's best-performing single in the country. Elsewhere, "Shallow" topped the charts in Ireland, Gaga's sixth number-one and Cooper's first. The song continued to top the charts and attained its highest weekly sales and streams in its third week. In Switzerland, the song debuted at number five, becoming Gaga's first top five since "Born This Way", which peaked at number one and charted 30 weeks in total inside the top 100. The next week, "Shallow" reached the summit of the charts, becoming Gaga's third number one after "Poker Face" in 2009 and "Born This Way" in 2011. The song was later certified double platinum and spent more than 200 weeks in the Swiss charts. The song was the top-selling digital download in France for the week ending October 19, 2018, reaching number 13 on the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP) Singles Chart. After four weeks, the song reached number six on the chart, before peaking at number 3 on the chart in March 2019, becoming Gaga's sixteenth and Cooper's first top ten in the country and the first for the former since "Perfect Illusion", which peaked at number one in September 2016. The SNEP awarded "Shallow" a Diamond certification for accumulating 333,333 equivalent sales units in 6 months, becoming Gaga's fastest single to be certified Diamond in the country. This made Gaga the first woman ever to score four singles that have sold at least 10 million copies each globally (after "Just Dance", "Poker Face", and "Bad Romance"), as well as the current record holder for the most entries by any female artist at the IFPI Global Top 10 Singles chart (after "Just Dance", "Poker Face", "Bad Romance", "Telephone" and "Born This Way"). ==Accolades==

"Shallow" was nominated and won in the category of Best Original Song – Feature Film, at the 2018 Hollywood Music in Media Awards. It also won in the category of Best Original Song at the 23rd Satellite Awards, and won in the Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society. It won the award for Best Song at the Critics' Choice Movie Awards and Best Original Song at the 76th Golden Globe Awards. At the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, the song won Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Song Written for Visual Media while nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. "Shallow" also won the BAFTA Award for Best Film Music at the 72nd BAFTA Awards and the Best Original Song at the 91st Academy Awards. As a result, Gaga became the first woman in history to win an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Grammy Award and a Golden Globe Award in the same year. "Shallow" is widely considered to be both one of the best songs of the 2010s decade and one of the best movie tracks of all time. Both Jon Pareles and Jon Caramanica of The New York Times ranked "Shallow" as the sixth best song of 2018. Pareles called it a "perfectly calibrated power ballad" which achieved "movie-musical triple duty as love song, vocal showcase and plot pivot". Rolling Stone listed it as the second-best song of 2018 and the 14th-best song of the 2010s; their writer, Brittany Spanos, called it a "classic-rock fantasy where the 1990s never ended". ==Live performances==

91st Academy Awards Gaga and Cooper performed "Shallow" together at the 91st Academy Awards on February 24, 2019. Cooper had confirmed that he would be singing in his own voice and not emulating that of his character in the film. The performance began with a guitarist playing the signature opening chords of the song. Gaga and Cooper stood up from the crowd and walked up to the stage hand in hand, with the camera behind the piano, facing the audience. They sat on opposite sides of a piano, maintaining constant eye contact while singing. Cooper joined Gaga at the piano for the song's final section, where they sang into a single microphone, eyes closed and faces touching. Rob Mills, senior vice president of the American Broadcasting Company, said the choreography, the camera placed facing the audience, and Cooper moving across towards Gaga during the last chorus were the duo's ideas. Aly Semigran from Billboard called it the best musical performance of the ceremony, saying that "their chemistry on stage was just as electric as it was on the big screen". She added that "The stars' sultry looks at one another [while] sitting at the piano launched a thousand 'OMG's on Twitter. A perfect Oscar performance was born." Spencer Kornhaber of The Atlantic felt that the Oscars performance of "Shallow" was "so stunning" in part because it treated the televised awards show moment like a cinematic scene, pulling viewers into an intimate, voyeuristic space. Pitchfork Kristen Yoonsoo Kim felt the duo "stole the show" with the "beautifully directed" performance, and described their rendition as "one birthed from a great, burning love, rather than the blossoming attraction of the film's version." Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times praised the vocals of both, and felt they "sang with an emotional intimacy that connected to both their characters in the movie and to the playful conspiracy theory that Gaga and Cooper are romantically involved in real life". Erica Gonzales of ''Harper's Bazaar found it to be "the most intimate performance the Oscars has ever seen". Vulture Jen Chaney found the performance "both epic and intimate", where Gaga "nailed every climactic note". The Independent'' Alexandra Pollard was less impressed, and criticized Cooper for singing off key, while adding that Gaga also had "a few wobbly moments", but "brought it back with a vengeance for the song's climax". In a 2025 ranking of the best musical performances at the Oscars, USA Today ranked Gaga and Cooper's duet number one, writing that the duo, "who shared undeniable harmony in A Star is Born, seamlessy transferred that connection to a live audience in a cleverly staged performance that gripped your soul." Gaga and Cooper's live performance of "Shallow" remains the most watched clip on the internet by the Academy Awards, garnering more than 870 million views on YouTube as of . Other performances "Shallow" has been included in several of Gaga's other live performances. It debuted at her Las Vegas residency show, Enigma (2018–2020), where she performed the song on the piano as the encore, while wearing an oversized shirt of her own merchandise. On January 26, 2019, Cooper joined her onstage, marking the first time the duo had performed the song together live. At the 61st Annual Grammy Awards on February 10, 2019, Gaga was joined onstage by Ronson, Rossomando and Wyatt, while Cooper was attending the 72nd British Academy Film Awards in London. Gaga wore a sparkling skin-tight bodysuit and high platform shoes, described as reminiscent of her looks from her The Fame-era. She also carried a bedazzled microphone stand. Brittany Spanos from Rolling Stone thought that Gaga and Ronson "stole the Grammy Awards show with a rocked-up performance" of "Shallow". She compared Gaga's movements on the stage to a "Ziggy Stardust-era David Bowie". According to Billboard Tatiana Cirisano, the singer gave a "rollicking performance" of the song as she "held her own, kicking and hair-flipping her way across the stage". The performance generated a number of memes due to Gaga's continuous eye-contact with the recording camera onstage. tour, with a visual presentation influenced by The Phantom of the Opera On November 2, 2020, Gaga performed "Shallow" along with "You and I" at president-elect Joe Biden's final campaign rally in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 2022, she performed "Shallow" at The Chromatica Ball stadium tour wearing a praying mantis-like headpiece, while playing on a piano which was set inside a sculpture of thorns. Jed Gottlieb of the Boston Herald opined that Gaga "delivered all the tenderness 'Shallow' demands" on the tour, while Adam Davidson of Clash found it a "spine-tingling rendition". On October 25, 2023, Gaga joined U2 for a performance of "Shallow" at the band's residency in Las Vegas Valley's Sphere. On January 30, 2025, she sang it at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California for FireAid to help with relief efforts for the January 2025 Southern California wildfires. The following month, Gaga appeared with the track at SNL50: The Homecoming Concert, which commemorated the 50th anniversary season of Saturday Night Live. In 2025, "Shallow" was performed on piano throughout Gaga's Mayhem promotional concerts—including her Coachella headlining set—and was also featured in a five-song set at the YouTube Brandcast event at New York City's Geffen Hall. During the Mayhem Ball tour (2025–2026), Gaga presented a darker, "more menacing" arrangement of "Shallow", appearing in a cloak and seated in a bedazzled Venetian-style gondola illuminated by a lantern. The gondola, paddled by a red-masked figure, carried her along the catwalk to the B-stage. The staging drew inspiration from Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical The Phantom of the Opera, an interpretation Webber publicly endorsed. Gaga described the new live arrangement of "Shallow" as deliberately "campy", explaining that performing it on a gondola felt "ridiculous" in a way she embraced. She said she wanted to reinterpret the song within her own aesthetic, as its original version was tied to the film's sound. To do so, she incorporated an unused electronic drum loop by Mark Ronson, adding a throbbing synth bass that gave the performance a darker mood and highlighted the more unsettling elements of Ally and Jackson's relationship. USA Today Melissa Ruggieri felt that "Shallow" became a "gorgeous prayer" in this new rendition. ==Cover versions==

American singers Lea Michele and Darren Criss added the song to the setlist of their LM/DC Tour on October 26, 2018, in Las Vegas. On November 14, 2018, Scottish singer Lewis Capaldi performed a cover of "Shallow" live on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge. Actor Billy Porter covered the song during the pre-Golden Globe Awards party on January 4, 2019, at The Sunset House in West Hollywood, California. Alicia Keys performed "Shallow" on piano on The Late Late Show with James Corden on February 6, 2019, along with the host, James Corden. They tweaked the lyrics so that it reflected Keys' role as host of the 61st Annual Grammy Awards. When Corden sang "Tell me something, Keys, I hear you're set to host this year's Grammys", Keys responded, "Didn't you host it twice? Maybe you could give me some advice". Comedian Melissa Villaseñor covered the song as part of her impersonation of Gaga during the "Weekend Update" segment of Saturday Night Live that aired on February 9, 2019. Villaseñor's belting was described as a "thrilling live moment" by Ryan McGee from Rolling Stone. The comedian reprised the role for following week's episode, which aired on February 16, 2019, singing the high notes from "Shallow". In February 2019, Kelly Clarkson covered the song at the Green Bay stop of her Meaning of Life Tour, while Nick Jonas posted a video on his Instagram account in which he played the guitar while singing the track. A video of Irish duo Jessica Reinl and Christopher Halligan, members of the Mount Sion Choir in Waterford, singing "Shallow" in December 2018 went viral and was seen by millions on Facebook. They were subsequently invited to perform the song on Irish national television. American indie rock duo Better Oblivion Community Center, composed of musicians Conor Oberst and Phoebe Bridgers, covered the song during a performance at the Brooklyn Steel venue on April 1, 2019. In April 2019, American country music singers Danielle Bradbery and Parker McCollum covered the song as a single to Bradbery's 2022 album In Between: The Collection. In May 2019, Brazilian singers Paula Fernandes and Luan Santana released a Portuguese version of "Shallow", titled "Juntos" ("Together"). The release of the new rendition caused a slight uproar in Brazil. Also in May 2019, a cappella group Pentatonix released their version on YouTube. As they have done a few times, this version included a cello accompaniment played by Kevin Olusola. On July 23, 2019, Mexican singer Ángela Aguilar released a cover version as part of the Recording Academy's Grammy ReImagines video series. Aguilar performed the song while playing the piano. In September 2019, Dutch singer and Nightwish frontwoman Floor Jansen performed a cover of "Shallow" on the Beste Zangers TV show. On February 16, 2020, a video starring Charlotte Awbery, an at-the-time unknown London commuter, became an overnight viral sensation gathering millions of views over social media. It depicts Awbery delivering a cover of "Shallow" during a spontaneous singing challenge by internet blogger Kevin Freshwater during a game in which he asks strangers to finish off the lyrics to different songs. Ten days later, she appeared in The Ellen DeGeneres Show and performed her rendition of the song. On August 28, 2020, Awbery released an official cover version as her debut single. In April 2020, Carina Dahl and Åge Sten Nilsen released a cover version in Norwegian, called "Shallow (Så Ekte Nå)" ("So Real Now"), which received attention and popularity in Norway. The single was certified Gold by IFPI Norway in 2021. In October 2020, country music singers Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood released a version of "Shallow", which was later also serviced to country radio. A French version of the song is featured in the third season of Netflix's Emily in Paris (2022), sung by Ashley Park and Kevin Dias. ==Credits and personnel==

Credits were adapted from the liner notes of A Star Is Born. Management • Published by Sony/ATV Songs LLC / SG Songs LLC (BMI) / ImageM CV / Songs of Zelig (BMI) • Published by Stephaniesays Music (ASCAP) / Downtown DLJ Songs (ASCAP) by Downtown Music Publishing LLC, Whiteball Music Publishing Group / Downtown DMP Songs (BMI) • Published by Warner-Barham Music LLC (BMI) / Admin by Songs of Universal (BMI) / Warner-Olive Music LLC (ASCAP) • Recorded at Greek Theater, EastWest Studios, The Village West (Los Angeles, California) • Mixed at Electric Lady Studios (New York City) • Mastered at Sterling Sound Studios (New York City) Personnel • Lady Gaga – songwriter, producer, primary vocals • Bradley Cooper – primary vocals • Mark Ronson – songwriter • Anthony Rossomando – songwriter • Andrew Wyatt – songwriter • Benjamin Rice – producer, recording • Bo Bodnar – recording assistant • Alex Williams – recording assistant • Tom Elmhirst – mixing • Brandon Bost – mixing engineer • Randy Merrill – audio mastering • Anthony Logerfo – drums • Corey McCormick – bass • Alberto Bof – keyboards • Lukas Nelson – acoustic guitar • Jesse Siebenberg – lap steel guitar • Eduardo 'Tato' Melgar – percussion == Charts ==

Weekly charts Monthly charts Year-end charts Decade-end charts Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood cover Weekly charts Year-end charts == Certifications and sales ==