Shallow (Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper) - day 40
Imagine, if you will, a movie star not known for his singing voice, finding his vulnerability in the role of a lifetime alongside the mammoth voice of millennial pop-queen Lady Gaga? We’re far from the Shallow now. Imagine, then, if you will still, a pop-diva known for her outlandish looks and thumping dance beats finding her vulnerability in a film that established her as a force with which to be reckoned? I don’t know about you but I’m far from the deep end with this magical musical collaboration. Watch as I dive in.
Somewhere around 2 and a half minutes in, as Gaga’s voice explodes within a bridge and the crowd roars, the world actually goes still. This is perfection. There is no other way to describe what is happening as her voice climbs a mountainous crescendo of pain and joy and terror and confusion and love. Every emotion imaginable. That’s what you feel as she crushes the top of her range.
It’s not difficult to see how this song won an Oscar. And a Grammy. And a Golden Globe. And nearly every other accolade this song deserved. Lady Gaga is the muse this world needs. I am proud to call her mother monster. Where I used to herald Madonna as next to God, I think Gaga has rightly taken her seat at his (or her?) right hand.