If you've bawled your eyes out listening to the songs from the 2018 remake of A Star Is Born, rest assured, you're definitely not alone.
Particularly, "Shallow," the duet between Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, seems to be resonating with so many. On Youtube, the Oscar-nominated song, which Gaga co-wrote, has over 300 million views so far. Apart from that, it became the "Born This Way" singer's longest-leading number one on Billboard's Digital Song Sales chart ever.
But what is it about this song that makes people get such a big lump in their throats whenever they hear it? While the lyrics of the tune probably mean something different to each person who listens to it, Lady Gaga told Variety that the song doesn't just connect Ally (Gaga) and Jackson's (Cooper) romance. That's the "shallow," if you will. What's actually happening in "the deep end" is something much more profound, she says.
The Best Actress nominee sees the lyrics having special meaning, especially in light of the #MeToo movement:
"We are living in a time where there’s so much conversation about women’s voices being heard ... Men listening to those voices. And also, men not listening to those voices. Women being silenced in very public ways, like Dr. [Christine Blasey] Ford with Justice [Brett] Kavanaugh. Judge Kavanaugh being appointed is basically like telling every single woman in the country that’s been assaulted, ‘We don’t care. Or we don’t believe you.'"
And so, with "Shallow," she says the words signify a time when men and women are having an open dialogue with each other.
"That conversation is what makes the song successful and beautiful and why people cry when they hear it," Gaga said. "It’s because that man and woman connect, and they are listening to each other."
It's a message that Gaga is hoping to get across when she performs the song next with Bradley at the 2019 Oscars. Apart from the awards show, you can also catch them belting out the moving hymn in the below video from one of Gaga's recent Vegas residency shows. It goes without saying, but make sure the tissues aren't too far out of reach when you do.
