The soundtrack to the Bradley Cooper/Lady Gaga movie hit, A Star Is Born, debuts this week at #1 on the Billboard 200.
According to reports, the soundtrack sold over 231,000 in equivalent album units.
This marks Gaga’s 5th consecutive #1 album, and the first for four-time Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper.
It’s also the highest album sales week for a music film soundtrack since 2014’s Frozen.
Performed by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, the soundtrack’s lead single “Shallow” is currently #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has held the #1 spot on iTunes since the day after its September 27th premiere.
In advance of her highly-anticipated feature film debut in A Star is Born, Lady Gaga sat down with Vogue for a round of ’73 Questions.’
It’s a rapid-fire sort of affair outside her home in Los Angeles.
Vogue: “How do you prefer I call you – Lady? Lady Gaga?”
Lady Gaga: “Call me Lady.”
V: “What’s something you’re now proud to say is behind you?”
LG: “You know, all the negative stuff that happens to you in your 20s.”
V: “How do you start your day?”
LG: “I start my day with a nice workout, and then I take a shower or a long hot bath.”
V: “What’s the strangest rumor you’ve ever heard about yourself?”
LG: “That I have a penis.”
You get the picture.
The moment that perked up my ears, though, was when the 6-time Grammy Award winner was asked what she’d like to be remembered for?
“I would like to be remembered for the message behind ‘Born This Way,’” says the 32-year-old artist, referencing her acclaimed hit that’s been widely viewed as an LGBTQ anthem for acceptance. “I would like to be remembered for believing that people are equal,” she adds.
And in nod to her well-known love of individuality, she finishes, “I would like to be remembered for being courageous and different.”
The LGBTQ ally has been a “walk the walk” kind of friend to the community for a long time, not only in embracing her gay fans but starting the Born This Way Foundation in 2012, which is committed to supporting the wellness of young people and empowering them to create a kinder and braver world.
There’s an interesting vibe to the video chat in that the camera stays back to keep her framed in full on her patio.
And after the interviewer hands her a gift of a book about David Bowie, she flips through the pages absentmindedly while answering questions.
But then, being ‘interesting’ has been a Gaga trait for some time now, hasn’t it?
She also shares that when it comes to collaborations, she’d love to do “more Tony (Bennett), more Elton (John), and Stevie Wonder.”
When it comes to fashion, the 32-year-old says she loves it because it “can be a form of expression and a form of hiding.”
And one last response that I loved:
V: “Do you prefer a crowd of 300 people or 30,000?”
LG: “Both.”
Cherish that instinct, Lady 🙂
You can watch the chat with Mother Monster below. A Star is Born hits theaters October 5.
Lady Gaga makes her feature film debut in the new film, aptly titled A Star Is Born, and critics are loving it.
In this 4th iteration of the now-famous story (previous versions in 1937 with Janet Gaynor, 1954 with Judy Garland, and 1976 with Streisand) of a fading star falling in love with an unknown on a meteoric rise, Gaga is making her film debut as “Ally,” an unknown singer/songwriter who is discovered by Bradley Cooper’s hard-drinking country rocker, “Jackson Maine,” performing in a drag bar.
Sparks become chemistry becomes love, and off we go with Cooper and Gaga as he introduces her to the world and she tries to save him from his own self-destruction.
The movie, also Cooper’s directorial debut, recently premiered at the Venice Film Festival to spectacular results.
Critics raved: Entertainment Weekly says Gaga “deserves praise for her restrained, human-scale performance as a singer whose real-girl vulnerability lands miles away from the glittery meat-dress delirium of her own stage persona.”
“There’s a lot to love in Bradley Cooper’s entertaining remake of A Star is Born,” writes The Hollywood Reporter, adding Gaga is “captivating.”
The Guardian gushes about the film using terms as glowing as “outrageously watchable.” “colossally enjoyable” and “supercharged.”
Variety can’t seem to find enough superlatives: “Rapturous and swooning, but also delicate and intimate and luminous.”
And TIME gives much credit to Cooper’s directorial instincts that know the proper moments to step out of the spotlight: “Cooper fades into the corner at just the right moments, allowing Gaga to shine.”
“A Star is Born” stars four-time Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper (“American Sniper,” “American Hustle,” “Silver Linings Playbook”) and multiple award-winning, Oscar-nominated music superstar Lady Gaga, in her first leading role in a major motion picture. Cooper helms the drama, marking his directorial debut.
In this new take on the tragic love story, he plays seasoned musician Jackson Maine, who discovers—and falls in love with—struggling artist Ally (Gaga). She has just about given up on her dream to make it big as a singer… until Jack coaxes her into the spotlight. But even as Ally’s career takes off, the personal side of their relationship is breaking down, as Jack fights an ongoing battle with his own internal demons.
The cast of “A Star is Born” also includes Andrew Dice Clay, with Dave Chappelle and Sam Elliott.
In addition to playing Ally, Gaga, who earned her Oscar nod for the song “Til It Happens to You” from “The Hunting Ground,” performs original songs in the film, which she wrote with Cooper and a handful of artists, including Lukas Nelson, Jason Isbell and Mark Ronson. All the music is original and was recorded live.
It’s notable that this is the 3rd remake of the “Star is Born” story.
The original was made in 1937, followed by the Judy Garland version in 1954 (Judy’s best film performance in my opinion) and the under-appreciated 1976 version starring a powerhouse performance by Barbra Streisand.
The movie hits theaters October 5.
You can watch the trailer below – it looks terrific.
