A Star Is Born (2018 soundtrack)

A Star Is Born
Soundtrack album by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper
Released October 5, 2018
Recorded 2017–2018
Studio Electric Lady Studios, New York
Length 70:01
Label Interscope
Producer
Lady Gaga chronology
Joanne
(2016)		 A Star Is Born
(2018)
Singles from A Star Is Born
  1. "Shallow"
    Released: September 27, 2018

A Star Is Born is the soundtrack album to the 2018 musical film of the same name, performed by its stars Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. It was released on October 5, 2018, by Interscope Records.[1] Gaga and Cooper collaborated on the soundtrack album with an assortment of country musicians, including Lukas Nelson, who also stars in the film as a member of Cooper's band. For the more pop-oriented songs on the soundtrack, Gaga teamed up with recurring collaborator DJ White Shadow. The soundtrack also includes contributions from Jason Isbell, Mark Ronson, Diane Warren, and Andrew Wyatt of Miike Snow. Commercially, it has topped the charts in Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Background and development

In March 2015, Warner Bros. announced that Bradley Cooper was in talks to make his directorial debut with A Star Is Born, the fourth remake of the 1937 film of the same name.[2] Lady Gaga was officially attached to the film in August 2016, with the studio green-lighting the project to begin production in early 2017.[3] Cooper plays Jackson Maine, "a veteran country singer who discovers and eventually falls in love with a struggling singer-songwriter named Ally, played by Gaga."[4] Gaga "helped inform Cooper's performance as a musician".[5]

Cooper spent two-and-a-half years prepping for the film and determining what kind of musician his character would be. He worked with a number of musicians and vocal coach Roger Love.[6] Cooper said, "by the end he just kind of started developing into his own sort of creation. If I had another year of prep, it would have been complete rock, but now it's some sort of hybrid."[6]

Writing and recording

Cooper described the soundtrack "an evolution, like the story."[7] Gaga and Cooper were writing songs for the soundtrack during filming, leading to "so many different incarnations of each song."[7] 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."[7] Jason Isbell wrote a song for Cooper's character, which became "the sword with which a lot of the music spawned from [Cooper]". Isbell sent the song through Dave Cobb, a Nashville-based producer with whom Cooper had been collaborating.[8]

Cooper approached Lukas Nelson (son of country music singer Willie Nelson) after seeing him perform at Desert Trip in October 2016 and asked him to work on the film as a music consultant.[9] 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."[10] Nelson subsequently met Gaga and began writing songs with her (she, in turn, provided backing vocals on two tracks on his self-titled 2017 album).[11] Nelson and his band, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, appear in the film as Cooper's backing band.[6]

Gaga reunited with producer Mark Ronson and songwriter Hillary Lindsey, who had both contributed to her previous studio album Joanne (2016).[6] She worked with recurring collaborator DJ White Shadow on the soundtrack's more pop-oriented numbers performed by her character Ally.

Much of the album was recorded live on set,[1] at Gaga's insistence.[6]

Music and lyrics

Billboard described the soundtrack as "integral to the plotline", adding that "many of the lyrics are about wanting and longing for change, but noting the struggle. Some express the great love and beautiful bond the booze-addled rock star (Jackson Maine, played by Cooper) and neophyte singer-songwriter (Ally, played by Lady Gaga) have for each other", and concluding that "the music stands up, movie or no movie. They are 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."[12]

Release

The soundtrack's track list and release date were announced on August 30, 2018.[4] Interscope Records tweeted that the album "features 19 songs in a wide range of musical styles + 15 dialogue tracks that will take you on a journey that mirrors the experience of seeing the film."[13] Its track "Shallow" was released on September 27 as the album's lead single.[14]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100[15]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[16]
The Guardian[17]
Rolling Stone[18]
NME[19]
Pitchfork7.4/10[20]
Slant Magazine[21]

On Metacritic, A Star Is Born has a score of 78/100, indicating "generally favorable reviews", based on eight reviews.[15] In a positive review, The Washington Post called the soundtrack a "five-star marvel" and stated that it is a possible contender to win a Grammy Award.[22] Ben Beaumont-Thomas of The Guardian called it an "instant classics full of Gaga's emotional might" and gave it a 4 out of 5 stars.[17]

Commercial performance

In the United Kingdom, A Star Is Born faced competition from Twenty One Pilots' fifth studio album, Trench, with the chart flashes giving the latter as being the top-album to emerge. However A Star Is Born pulled ahead at the last moment according to Alan Jones from Music Week, and debuted atop the UK Albums Chart selling 31,816 units (including 6,178 from stream-equivalent units). It became Gaga's fourth album to reach number-one in the nation and first since Artpop (2013) as well as Cooper's first entry on the chart.[23][24] The soundtrack also opened at number-one in Ireland and Scotland,[25][26] and was Gaga's third number-one in the former.[27] In Australia, A Star Is Born entered at number three on the ARIA Albums Chart[28]

Track listing

Standard version[29]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Intro"  0:20
2."Black Eyes" (performed by Bradley Cooper)
3:03
3."Somewhere Over the Rainbow" (dialogue; featuring Lady Gaga)
 0:42
4."Fabulous French" (dialogue; featuring Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Anthony Ramos and D.J. "Shangela" Pierce)  0:19
5."La Vie en rose" (performed by Lady Gaga)
2:59
6."I'll Wait for You" (dialogue; featuring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga)  0:19
7."Maybe It's Time" (performed by Bradley Cooper)Jason Isbell
  • Cooper
  • Benjamin Rice
  • Gaga[a]
2:39
8."Parking Lot" (dialogue; featuring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga)  0:31
9."Out of Time" (performed by Bradley Cooper)
  • Cooper
  • Nelson
  • Cooper
  • Nelson
2:52
10."Alibi" (performed by Bradley Cooper)
  • Gaga
  • Cooper
  • Nelson
  • Gaga
  • Cooper
  • Nelson
3:03
11."Trust Me" (dialogue; featuring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga)  0:32[e]
12."Shallow" (performed by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper)
  • Gaga
  • Rice
3:35
13."First Stop, Arizona" (dialogue; featuring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga)  0:10
14."Music to My Eyes" (performed by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper)
  • Gaga
  • Nelson
Nelson3:19
15."Diggin' My Grave" (performed by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper)Paul Kennerley
  • Gaga
  • Nelson
3:57
16."I Love You" (dialogue; featuring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga)  0:19
17."Always Remember Us This Way" (performed by Lady Gaga)
3:30
18."Unbelievable" (dialogue; featuring Lady Gaga and Rafi Gavron)  0:28
19."How Do You Hear It?" (dialogue; featuring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga)  0:14
20."Look What I Found" (performed by Lady Gaga)
  • Gaga
  • Nilan
  • Monson
  • Blair
2:55
21."Memphis" (dialogue; featuring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga)  0:24
22."Heal Me" (performed by Lady Gaga)
  • Gaga
  • Nilan
  • Monson
  • Blair
3:16
23."I Don't Know What Love Is" (performed by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper)
  • Gaga
  • Nelson
2:57
24."Vows" (dialogue; featuring Lady Gaga)  0:17
25."Is That Alright?" (performed by Lady Gaga)
  • Gaga
  • Nilan
  • Monson
  • Blair
  • Raitiere
  • Gaga
  • Nilan
  • Monson
  • Blair
3:11
26."SNL" (dialogue; featuring Alec Baldwin, Donald King, Michael Mancini and Gena Rositano)  0:13
27."Why Did You Do That?" (performed by Lady Gaga)
  • Gaga
  • Nilan
  • Monson
  • Blair
3:04
28."Hair Body Face" (performed by Lady Gaga)
  • Gaga
  • Nilan
  • Monson
  • Blair
  • Gaga
  • Nilan
  • Monson
  • Blair
  • Rice[d]
3:22
29."Scene 98" (dialogue; featuring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga)  0:35[f]
30."Before I Cry" (performed by Lady Gaga)
  • Gaga
  • Nilan
  • Monson
  • Blair
  • Gaga
  • Nilan
  • Monson
  • Blair
4:18
31."Too Far Gone" (performed by Bradley Cooper)
  • Cooper
  • Nelson
  • Cooper
  • Nelson
1:26
32."Twelve Notes" (dialogue; featuring Lady Gaga and Sam Elliott)  1:03
33."I'll Never Love Again" (film version) (performed by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper)
  • Gaga
  • Hemby
  • Lindsey
  • Raitiere
  • Gaga
  • Rice
4:41
34."I'll Never Love Again" (extended version) (performed by Lady Gaga)
  • Gaga
  • Hemby
  • Lindsey
  • Raitiere
  • Gaga
  • Rice
5:28
Total length:70:01[g]
Notes
  • ^[a]  – additional vocal production
  • ^[b]  – additional production
  • ^[c]  – main and additional production
  • ^[d]  – vocal production
  • ^[e]  – 0:31 on clean version of the album
  • ^[f]  – 0:34 on clean version of the album
  • ^[g]  – 69:59 for clean version of the album

Charts

Chart (2018) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[32] 3
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[33] 4
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[34] 4
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[35] 4
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[36] 43
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[37] 5
Ireland (IRMA)[38] 1
Italian Albums (FIMI)[39] 8
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[40] 6
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[41] 15
Scottish Albums (OCC)[26] 1
Swedish Compilation (Sverigetopplistan)[42] 1
UK Albums (OCC)[43] 1

Release history

Region Date Format Label Ref.
Various October 5, 2018
Interscope [44]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Reed, Ryan (August 30, 2018). "Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper Detail 'A Star Is Born' Soundtrack". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  2. ↑ Fleming Jr, Mike (March 24, 2015). "Bradley Cooper To Make Directing Debut, Hopes To Star With Beyonce In 'A Star Is Born' For Warner Bros". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  3. ↑ Fleming Jr, Mike (August 16, 2016). "'A Star Is Born' Gets Warner Bros Green Light; Bradley Cooper Directs, Stars With Lady Gaga". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  4. 1 2 Rao, Sonia (August 30, 2018). "What we know about the lengthy 'A Star Is Born' soundtrack, like its copious amount of Bradley Cooper". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  5. ↑ Kaufman, Amy (August 30, 2018). "Lady Gaga on letting go for 'A Star Is Born' and what Bradley Cooper insisted she do before filming". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Nolfi, Joey (December 6, 2017). "Get to know the songwriters behind Lady Gaga's A Star Is Born". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  7. 1 2 3 Stack, Tim (August 11, 2018). "Inside the creation of the thrilling new A Star Is Born soundtrack". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  8. ↑ Betts, Stephen (December 6, 2017). "Jason Isbell, Lukas Nelson Songs to Appear in Lady Gaga's 'A Star Is Born'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  9. ↑ Greene, Andy (April 4, 2018). "Lukas Nelson Talks Writing With Lady Gaga, Gigging With Neil Young". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  10. ↑ Finn, Timothy (February 2, 2018). "He's worked with Neil Young, Gaga and his dad, Willie Nelson. Now he's coming to KC". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  11. ↑ Stephens, Samantha (September 18, 2017). "How Lady Gaga Brought Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real's "Find Yourself" to Life". CMT. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  12. ↑ Bliss, Karen (September 10, 2018). "Lady Gaga Praises 'A Star Is Born' Co-Star Bradley Cooper's Talents at Toronto Premiere: 'He Sings From His Soul'". Billboard. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  13. ↑ @Interscope (August 30, 2018). "#AStarIsBornSoundtrack features 19 songs in a wide range of musical styles + 15 dialogue tracks that will take you on a journey that mirrors the experience of seeing the film. Pre-order the music from the film now, out Oct. 5. smarturl.it/ASIBSoundtrack @StarIsBornMovie #AStarIsBorn" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ↑ Balancia, Donna (September 25, 2018). "REVIEW: Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper Let the Music Shine in 'A Star Is Born'". California Rocker. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  15. 1 2 "A Star Is Born (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Metacritic. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  16. ↑ Thomas Erlewine, Stephen (October 5, 2018). "Lady Gaga / Bradley Cooper - A Star Is Born [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]". AllMusic. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  17. 1 2 Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (October 5, 2018). "A Star Is Born soundtrack review – instant classics full of Gaga's emotional might". The Guardian. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  18. ↑ Spannos, Brittany (October 5, 2018). "Review: Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper Shine Bright on the 'A Star Is Born' Soundtrack". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  19. ↑ Reilly, Nick (October 8, 2018). "'A Star Is Born' – soundtrack review". NME. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  20. ↑ Fitzmaurice, Larry (October 8, 2018). "Lady Gaga / Bradley Cooper - A Star Is Born Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  21. ↑ Winograd, Jeremy (October 10, 2018). "A Star Is Born Original Soundtrack". Slant Magazine. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  22. ↑ Kennedy, Mark (October 4, 2018). "Review: 'A Star Is Born' soundtrack is a five-star marvel". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  23. ↑ Myers, Justin (October 12, 2018). "Lady Gaga tops Official Albums Chart for fourth time thanks to A Star Is Born". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  24. ↑ Jones, Alan (October 12, 2018). "Charts analysis: A Star Is Born races to No.1". Music Week. Retrieved October 12, 2018. (Subscription required (help)).
  25. ↑ Mapstone, Lucy (October 12, 2018). "Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper top charts with A Star Is Born soundtrack". Irish Independent.
  26. 1 2 "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  27. ↑ White, Jack (October 12, 2018). "The A Star Is Born soundtrack bests Twenty One Pilots for Official Irish Albums Chart Number 1". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  28. ↑ "Trench lands Twenty One Pilots first ARIA #1". Australian Recording Industry Association. October 13, 2018. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  29. ↑ "A Star Is Born (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". iTunes Store. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  30. ↑ "Over the Rainbow: BMI Work #21904915". BMI. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  31. ↑ "A Star Is Born (Without Dialogue)". Spotify. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  32. ↑ "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. October 15, 2018. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  33. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Soundtrack / Lady Gaga / Bradley Cooper – A Star Is Born" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  34. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Soundtrack / Lady Gaga / Bradley Cooper – A Star Is Born" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  35. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Soundtrack / Lady Gaga / Bradley Cooper – A Star Is Born" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  36. ↑ "Elokuvamusiikki: A Star Is Born" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  37. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Soundtrack – A Star Is Born" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  38. ↑ "IRMA – Irish Charts". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  39. ↑ "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 41 (dal 2018-10-05 al 2018-10-11)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  40. ↑ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. October 15, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  41. ↑ "VG-lista – Topp 40 Album uke 41, 2018". VG-lista. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  42. ↑ "Veckolista Samlingar – Vecka 41, 12 oktober 2018" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. October 12, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  43. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  44. ↑ "A Star Is Born – Official store". Warner Bros. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
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