A Star Is Born (2018 soundtrack)

A Star Is Born
Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper embracing and looking at each other in the sepia toned image.
Soundtrack album by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper
Released	October 5, 2018
Recorded	2017–2018
Studio	Woodrow Wilson Studios (Hollywood, California) EastWest Studios, The Village West (Los Angeles, California) Shangri-La Studios (Malibu, California) Electric Lady Studios (New York City)
Length	70:01
Label	Interscope
Producer	Paul "DJWS" Blair Dave Cobb Bradley Cooper Lady Gaga Nick Monson Lukas Nelson Brian Newman Mark Nilan Jr. Benjamin Rice
Lady Gaga chronology
Joanne (2016) A Star Is Born (2018)
Singles from A Star Is Born (2018 soundtrack)

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. 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 more than 15 countries, attaining gold and platinum certifications from many of them, while selling over two million copies worldwide.

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. Lady Gaga was officially attached to the film in August 2016, with the studio green-lighting the project to begin production in early 2017. 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." Gaga "helped inform Cooper's performance as a musician".

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. 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."

Writing and recording

File:Electric Lady Studios.jpg

The songs were recorded at Electric Lady Studios, among other locations.

Cooper described the soundtrack "an evolution, like the story." Gaga and Cooper were writing songs for the soundtrack during filming, leading to "so many different incarnations of each song." 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." 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.

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. 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." Gaga, in turn, provided backing vocals on two tracks on Nelson's self-titled album released in 2017. Nelson and his band, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, appear in the film as Cooper's backing band.

Gaga reunited with producer Mark Ronson and songwriter Hillary Lindsey, who had both contributed to her previous studio album Joanne (2016). 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, at Gaga's insistence.

Music and lyrics

The album contains elements of blues rock, country and bubblegum pop. Billboard says its lyrics are about wanting change, its struggle, love, romance, and bonding, describing the music as "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."

Release

The soundtrack's track list and release date were announced on August 30, 2018. 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." The song "Shallow" was released on September 27 as the album's lead single. "Always Remember Us This Way" followed on November 21, 2018 in South Africa and three days later in the United Kingdom.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	78/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The Daily Telegraph
The Guardian
NME
Pitchfork	7.4/10
Rolling Stone
Slant Magazine

The soundtrack received a positive response from critics. 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". 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. Ben Beaumont-Thomas of The Guardian gave the album a positive review, acknowledging "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"

In a positive review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine, writing for AllMusic, said "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. Rolling Stone's Brittany Spanos gave the soundtrack four stars out of a possible five, saying "The music Gaga helps write for this stretch in Ally’s career...is gorgeous--romantic without being trite and powerful." 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."

Writing for The Daily Telegraph, Neil McCormick gave the album a moderately positive review, saying the soundtrack was enjoyable, but criticized the "slightly awkward journey from rock balladry to slickly superficial pop" and stated that "there is also a weird disconnect as the soundtrack shifts gear to anodyne modern pop". Jeremy Winograd of Slant Magazine, in a mixed review, was critical of the album, saying "There’s undoubtedly a strong 10-song album lodged at the core of A Star Is Born, but unlike the film, wherein an outsized sense of sentimentality is rendered affecting by the more grounded performances, there’s not nearly enough substance here to justify all the bombast."

Commercial performance

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. Gaga extended her record as the female artist with the most chart-topping albums during the 2010s, breaking her tie with Taylor Swift. Beside its pure album sales, A Star Is Born earned 37,000 in stream-equivalent units and 32,000 from track-equivalent units. 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). It then held the country's summit 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. A Star Is Born was displaced one week later by Andrea Bocelli's Sì. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it Platinum for selling over a million album-equivalent units and by the year end the album sold 704,000 copies (with 299,000 copies from digital downloads).

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. 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. 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. A Star Is Born spent eight weeks atop the chart and became the longest-running number-one soundtrack, since Frozen spent seven weeks at the pole position beginning in March 2014. 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.

In the United Kingdom, A Star Is Born faced competition from Twenty One Pilots' fifth studio album, Trench, with the midweek chart suggesting the latter to emerge as the top album. A Star Is Born pulled ahead at the last moment according to Alan Jones from Music Week, and debuted atop the UK Albums Chart with 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. The soundtrack fell to number two the following week behind Jess Glynne's Always In Between, selling 24,732 equivalent units. For the week ending November 1, 2018, the soundtrack moved back atop the chart with 24,982 copies sold (including 6,645 from sales-equivalent streams). "Shallow" also reached the top of the UK Singles Chart that week, making Gaga and Cooper score an Official UK Chart double, this being Gaga's third time to do so. The soundtrack received a Platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for selling over 300,000 units in the country.

A Star Is Born opened at number one in both Ireland and Scotland, and was Gaga's third number one in the former. During its eleventh week atop the Irish chart, the soundtrack attained its highest sales tally, helped by the release of the Special Deluxe Edition. In France, the soundtrack sold 8,700 copies and debuted at number seven on the SNEP Albums Chart, held the same position the next week with another 8,000 sold, and climbed to number five in its fourth week, selling 7,500 copies. In Australia, A Star Is Born entered at number three on the ARIA Albums Chart, giving Gaga her seventh top 10 album in the country and her sixth to reach the top three. Two weeks later, the soundtrack reached the top of the charts, becoming Gaga's third album to reach the Australian charts summit after The Fame Monster and Born This Way. The soundtrack debuted at number six in the New Zealand Albums Chart, and after two weeks reached the top. It was certified platinum in both nations. A Star Is Born became the year's longest running number-one album in Australia at 10 weeks (ranking at number three on the year-end charts), while in New Zealand it topped the charts for 14 weeks. Worldwide the album went on to sell two million copies.

Accolades

A Star Is Born was nominated in the category of Best Soundtrack Album at the 9th Hollywood Music in Media Awards. Julianne Jordan and Julia Michels won in the categories for Outstanding Music Supervision at the same awards.

Uproxx website ranked the soundtrack at number four on their list of 20 Must-Hear Pop Albums From 2018, with Chloe Gilke from the publication adding that "A Star Is Born could have gotten away with a lesser soundtrack, but it’s all the more impressive for featuring some of the best pop music of 2018." Katie Atkinson from Billboard picked A Star Is Born as the 21st best release on their ranking of the 50 Best Albums of 2018, saying that "like the best soundtracks, this one truly resonates because it re-transports you to the world of [the film], thanks to a combination of live and studio recordings that include ambient noise and audience feedback and put you right back onstage with Jackson and Ally." James Rettig from Stereogum listed it as one of the Noteworthy Movie Soundtracks From 2018, adding that "As far as massive music blockbusters go, you can't do much better than A Star Is Born, which is sad and entertaining and romantic and ends up being pretty good at all of it."

Track listing

Standard version
No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"		0:20
2.	"Black Eyes" (performed by Bradley Cooper)	Cooper Nelson Lady Gaga	3:03
3.	"Somewhere Over the Rainbow" (dialogue; featuring Lady Gaga)		0:42
4.	"Fabulous French" (dialogue; featuring Cooper, Gaga, Anthony Ramos & Shangela Laquifa Wadley)		0:19
5.	"La Vie en rose" (performed by Gaga)	Gaga Brian Newman	2:59
6.	"I'll Wait for You" (dialogue; featuring Cooper & Gaga)		0:19
7.	"Maybe It's Time" (performed by Cooper)	Cooper Benjamin Rice Gaga	2:39
8.	"Parking Lot" (dialogue; featuring Cooper & Gaga)		0:31
9.	"Out of Time" (performed by Cooper)	Cooper Nelson	2:52
10.	"Alibi" (performed by Cooper)	Gaga Cooper Nelson	3:03
11.	"Trust Me" (dialogue; featuring Cooper & Gaga)		0:32
12.	"Shallow" (performed by Gaga & Cooper)	Gaga Rice	3:35
13.	"First Stop, Arizona" (dialogue; featuring Cooper & Gaga)		0:10
14.	"Music to My Eyes" (performed by Gaga & Cooper)	Nelson	3:19
15.	"Diggin' My Grave" (performed by Gaga & Cooper)	Gaga Nelson	3:57
16.	"I Love You" (dialogue; featuring Cooper & Gaga)		0:19
17.	"Always Remember Us This Way" (performed by Gaga)	Dave Cobb Gaga	3:30
18.	"Unbelievable" (dialogue; featuring Gaga & Rafi Gavron)		0:28
19.	"How Do You Hear It?" (dialogue; featuring Cooper & Gaga)		0:14
20.	"Look What I Found" (performed by Gaga)	Gaga Nilan Monson Blair	2:55
21.	"Memphis" (dialogue; featuring Cooper & Gaga)		0:24
22.	"Heal Me" (performed by Gaga)	Gaga Nilan Monson Blair	3:16
23.	"I Don't Know What Love Is" (performed by Gaga & Cooper)	Gaga Nelson Nilan Monson	2:57
24.	"Vows" (dialogue; featuring Gaga)		0:17
25.	"Is That Alright?" (performed by Gaga)	Gaga Nilan Monson Blair	3:11
26.	"SNL" (dialogue; featuring Alec Baldwin, Don Roy King, Michael Mancini & Gena Rositano)		0:13
27.	"Why Did You Do That?" (performed by Gaga)	Gaga Nilan Monson Blair	3:04
28.	"Hair Body Face" (performed by Gaga)	Gaga Nilan Monson Blair Rice	3:22
29.	"Scene 98" (dialogue; featuring Cooper & Gaga)		0:35
30.	"Before I Cry" (performed by Gaga)	Gaga Nilan Monson Blair	4:18
31.	"Too Far Gone" (performed by Cooper)	Cooper Nelson	1:26
32.	"Twelve Notes" (dialogue; featuring Gaga & Sam Elliott)		1:03
33.	"I'll Never Love Again" (film version) (performed by Gaga & Cooper)	Gaga Rice	4:41
34.	"I'll Never Love Again" (extended version) (performed by Gaga)	Gaga Rice	5:28
Total length:			70:01

Version without dialogue
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Black Eyes"	3:03
2.	"La Vie en rose"	2:59
3.	"Maybe It's Time"	2:39
4.	"Out of Time"	2:52
5.	"Alibi"	3:03
6.	"Shallow" (radio edit)	3:37
7.	"Music to My Eyes"	3:19
8.	"Diggin' My Grave"	3:57
9.	"Always Remember Us This Way"	3:30
10.	"Look What I Found"	2:55
11.	"Heal Me"	3:16
12.	"I Don't Know What Love Is"	2:57
13.	"Is That Alright?"	3:11
14.	"Why Did You Do That?"	3:04
15.	"Hair Body Face"	3:22
16.	"Before I Cry"	4:18
17.	"Too Far Gone"	1:26
18.	"I'll Never Love Again" (film version) (radio edit)	4:41
19.	"I'll Never Love Again" (extended version) (radio edit)	5:28
Total length:		63:37

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

Personnel

Production

• Dae Bennett – engineer
• Paul Blair – composer, producer
• Bobby Campbell – executive producer, producer
• Dave Cobb – producer
• Tom Elmhirst – dialogue mixing, mixing
• Lisa Einhorn-Gilder – production coordination
• Bradley Cooper – composer, primary artist, producer
• Bill Gerber – executive producer
• Ashley Gutierrez – executive assistant
• Natalie Hemby – composer
• Darren Higman – executive producer
• Jason Isbell – composer
• Gena Johnson – engineer
• Julianne Jordan – music supervisor
• Paul Kennerley – composer
• Lady Gaga – additional production, composer, horn arrangements, piano, producer, string arrangements, vocal producer
• Brian Lambert – executive in charge of music
• Hillary Lindsey – composer
• Louiguy – composer
• Lori McKenna – composer
• Randy Merrill – mastering
• Joe Nino-Hernes – lacquer cutting
• Kari Miazek – coordination
• Nick Monson – additional production, composer, guitar, keyboards, piano, producer, programming, string arrangements, vocals (background)
• Amanda Narkis – executive in charge of music
• Lukas Nelson – composer, guitar, guitar (acoustic), guitar (electric), producer
• Brian Newman – producer, trumpet
• Mark Nilan Jr. – additional production, composer, horn arrangements, keyboards, piano, producer, programming, string arrangements
• Julia Michaels – composer
• Julia Michels – music supervisor
• Jon Peters – executive producer
• Édith Piaf – composer
• Aaron Raitiere – composer
• Benjamin Rice – engineer, producer, vocal producer, vocals (background)
• Mark Ronson – composer
• Anthony Rossomando – composer
• Anthony Seyler – executive producer
• Ivy Skoff – coordination, string coordinator
• Eddie Spear – engineer
• JoAnn Tominaga – coordination, string contractor
• Justin Tranter – composer
• Diane Warren – composer
• Andrew Wyatt – composer

Management

• Alec Baldwin – featured artist
• Rob Bisel – assistant
• Bo Bodnar – assistant
• Brandon Bost – assistant
• Paul Broucek – executive in charge of music
• D.J. Shangela Pierce – featured artist
• Sam Elliott – featured artist
• Donald King – featured artist
• Michael Mancini – featured artist
• Anthony Ramos – featured artist
• John Rooney – assistant
• Gena Rositano – featured artist
• Tyler Shields – assistant
• Alex Williams – assistant
• Matt Wolach – assistant

Music

• Brian Allen – bass
• Charlie Bisharat – violin
• Alberto Bof – keyboards
• Jacob Braun – celli
• Brockett Parsons – keyboards
• Jon Drummond – bass
• Andrew Duckles – viola
• Alma Fernandez – viola
• Daniel Foose – bass
• Paul Francis – drums
• Grant Garibyan – violin
• Gary Grant – trumpet
• Lila Hood – violin
• Benjamin Jacobson – violin
• Chris Johnson – drums
• Steve Kortyka – saxophone
• Marisa Kuney – violin
• Songa Lee – violin
• Melvin "Maestro" Lightford – keyboards
• Shigeru Logan – viola
• Anthony LoGerfo – drums
• David Low – celli
• Andy Martin – trombone
• Corey McCormick – bass
• Serena McKinney – violin
• Tato Melgar – percussion
• Pablo Mendez – violin
• Leah Metzler – celli
• Joel Peskin – sax (baritone)
• Chris Powell – drums
• Leroy Powell – pedal steel guitar
• Kate Reddish – viola
• Tom Scott – contractor, sax (tenor)
• Jesse Siebenberg – lap steel guitar
• Alex Smith – piano
• Tim Stewart – guitar
• Ricky Tillo – guitar
• Adrienne Woods – celli

Personnel adapted from A Star Is Born soundtrack liner notes and AllMusic.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2018–2019)	Peak position
Argentinian Albums (CAPIF)	3
Australian Albums (ARIA)	1
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)	2
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)	4
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)	4
Canadian Albums (Billboard)	1
Croatia International Albums (HDU)	1
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)	1
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)	1
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)	3
Estonian Albums (IFPI)	1
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)	5
French Albums (SNEP)	5
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)	5
Greek Albums (IFPI Greece)	1
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)	13
Icelandic Albums (Tonlist)	2
1
Italian Albums (FIMI)	4
Japanese Albums (Oricon)	12
Japanese International Albums (Oricon)	4
Mexican Albums (AMPROFON)	3
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)	1
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)	1
Polish Albums (ZPAV)	3
Portuguese Albums (AFP)	2
Scottish Albums (OCC)	1
Slovak Albums (ČNS IFPI)	1
South African Albums (RiSA)	6
Korean Albums (Gaon)	37
Korean International Albums (Gaon)	1
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)	2
Swedish Compilation (Sverigetopplistan)	1
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)	1
UK Albums (OCC)	1
1
US Billboard 200	1
US Soundtrack Albums (Billboard)	1
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)	1

Year-end charts

Chart (2018)	Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)	3
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)	10
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)	56
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)	42
Canadian Albums (Billboard)	31
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)	76
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)	33
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)	42
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)	54
Irish Albums (IRMA)	2
Italian Albums (FIMI)	48
Mexican Albums (AMPROFON)	44
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)	5
Polish Albums (ZPAV)	47
South Korean International Albums (GAON)	10
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)	60
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)	19
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)	7
UK Albums (OCC)	7
US Billboard 200	37
US Soundtrack Albums (Billboard)	3

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)	Platinum	70,000
Austria (IFPI Austria)	Gold	7,500
Canada (Music Canada)	Platinum	92,000
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)	Gold	0
France (SNEP)	Platinum	100,000
Ireland		37,000
Italy (FIMI)	Gold	25,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)	2× Platinum	30,000
Poland (ZPAV)	Gold	10,000
South Korea		3,432
United Kingdom (BPI)	Platinum	300,000
United States (RIAA)	Platinum	704,000
*sales figures based on certification alone ^shipments figures based on certification alone xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
Various	October 5, 2018	Digital download Streaming CD LP	Interscope
Japan	November 7, 2018	Digital download CD LP
France	December 14, 2018	Deluxe CD double vinyl 3 posters
United States		Deluxe CD photobook 3 posters

See also

• List of artists who have achieved simultaneous UK and US number-one hits
• List of Billboard 200 number-one albums of 2018
• List of number-one albums of 2018 (Australia)
• List of number-one albums of 2018 (Canada)
• List of number-one albums from the 2010s (Denmark)
• List of number-one albums of 2018 (Ireland)
• List of number-one albums from the 2010s (New Zealand)
• List of number-one albums in Norway
• List of number-one albums of 2018 (Scotland)
• List of number-one hits of 2018 (Switzerland)
• List of UK Albums Chart number ones of the 2010s
• List of UK Album Downloads Chart number ones of the 2010s

External links

• A Star Is Born Music Official website