Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper performed the television debut of their A Star Is Born hit “Shallow” together at the Oscars. The track is a contender for Best Original Song at this year’s ceremony.
Gaga and Cooper walked from their front row seats in the audience to the stage where they performed in front of a just-placed piano. The entire performance was shot with the camera facing the audience, a fairly unusual camera placement for the award show. Cooper mustered up his (mostly retired) Jackson Maine vocals to hit the rough edge that’s heard on the single while Gaga gave a more somber take than what was performed at the Grammy Awards earlier this month. As the song progressed, the pair both found themselves sitting beside each other on the piano bench with faces close to one another.
Gaga and Cooper, who are both up for Oscars for their acting performances, have performed the song live together only once before in Las Vegas for her Enigma residency. Gaga performs the track solo every night as the show’s encore. She was joined by co-writer Mark Ronson for a solo performance at the Grammy Awards.
“Shallow” has been a runaway hit from the A Star Is Born soundtrack. After becoming a meme based off a short preview in the film’s early trailer, the song was in high-demand before being released in full a few weeks prior to the film’s own premiere. It topped off at Number Five on the Hot 100. Earlier this month, it took home two Grammys, including Song of the Year. It was also awarded Best Original Song at the Golden Globes.