A Retrospective Review: A Star Is Born

[NotMyFlop 1,979]

Welcome back! Thank you all who has been continually reading, and if this is your first review, I hope you enjoy. This has been a series of essays opted to review Chromatica in the light that all of her musical efforts - or eras - are extremely interconnected and they are all represented (conceptually or explicitly) in her current album. I have written Retrospective Reviews on: The Fame, The Fame Monster, Born This Way, The Fall Before ARTPOP, ARTPOP, Cheek To Cheek and Joanne.

Five Foot Two's introduction showcased Gaga discussing how she was recently cast in Bradley Cooper's upcoming movie, A Star Is Born, the stripped-back, oft-somber documentary showcased Gaga coming into her record Joanne and climaxed at her legendary superbowl. While both anecdotes are crucial in her career, Five Foot Two ended up operating as a liaison between the "Lady" and the "Gaga". Expertly dismantling her larger-than-life persona with universal themes of heartbreak, health complications and resilience, it was the perfect accompiant to her Americana image she earned during the aforementioned Joanne era and deconstructed who she was to the point her role as Ally Campana would be believable. 

After the first few months of the jam-packed 2017 came to a close, there was virtual silence. It was the first time we overtly knew what was coming. Her next era had a name, and we know there was a movie. Besides a minor leak of what would become Heal Me, we had nothing. Needless to say, the morbid curiosity of the general public if she could pull this off and the slow-burn approach of information being released steadily built anticipation. Early screenings started in late 2017, and either misleading reviews or silence aside, no one knew exactly how that went. The coming announcement that A Star Is Born was going to be delayed from May 2018 to that October sent shockwaves through film critics; it was vying for festival season and coming for the Oscars. 

There was so much unknown about A Star Is Born that when the first trailer dropped in June 2018, it caused a frenzy. It was extremely well-done and the vocal stylings of Bradley Cooper stunned the world and that iconic riff done by Lady Gaga capitalized on the public's newfound respect for her vocal talent and foreshadowed the karaoke classic to come. In a questionable move, there came more silence. There was no immediate single release, no immediate promotional tour and nothing that seemed to want to build off the hype. 

Warner Brothers clearly were multiple steps ahead. Despite some minor droppings here and there, the hype was able to coast until September when it premiered at its first film festival in Vienna. The overwhelmingly positive reception sent fans into overdrive; her aesthetic was stunning, the chemistry between Bradley and her was clear. The public was invested, interest was building and signs pointing to a global phenomenon were revealing themselves. When they dropped Shallow, the public ate it up. 

A Star Is Born was released in theaters (and the soundtrack) at the beginning of October. While it was never the #1 movie in the world (by numbers), it arguably did something more impressive: exceeded expectations and stole profits from a ever-so-profitable superhero movie. It was the first project released by Lady Gaga that received overwhelmingly positive praise. Nearly everyone loved it. It did something rare; transcended the screen. The love story of Ally Campana and Jackson Maine was so palpable, so raw and so real that millions raised Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga on a pedestal of Hollywood's in-demand couple. When both Bradley and Gaga went through highly-publicized breakups, a frenzy ensued. 

Soundtracks are more open-ended than albums; where would a traditional album have both Shallow and Why Did You Do That? In truth, the soundtrack was extremely sophisticated in showcasing what the public loved the most about Gaga: catchy pop songs, a voice made for a piano and the ability to be extremely versatile. A silky-smooth vocal performance in French for La Vie En Rose, an epic with Shallow, a somber Always Remember Us This Way, a vintage-influenced Look What I Found shouldn't have worked together. With the accompanying movie and the context surrounding them, it works effortlessly. 

There is a meta quality to making a movie about a pop star starring a pop star. The commentary offered on how shallow pop music can be felt like a stab as Lady Gaga's actual career, and an examination of the state of pop music as a whole. It looks at mental health, drug abuse and the pressures of fame in ways that is both signature Lady Gaga style and completely darker than anything she has ever released. It feels as though it could be a true story about the woman we have come to love. 

Red and Blue, a pre-Fame album from "The Stefani Germonatta Band", had arguably deeper songs than anything found on The Fame. Despite the movie being about someone entirely different, there are scary parallels to her actual career. While no one would argue The Fame was a shallow record, the movie begs us to ask that question. It's this parallelism that helped make Lady Gaga so believable in her role, which would land her many acting nominations and wins. There aren't many would could earn an Oscar nomination in their first role. 

If the movie wasn't transcendental enough, the music definitely was. Shallow became an immortal hit; one of the longest-running #1 on worldwide iTunes, the most-awarded song of all-time and had a fascinating run on worldwide charts that resulted in her first #1 hit in eight years. This was four whole months after it dropped. Always Remember Us This Way, I'll Never Love Again and Is That Alright? all made splashes across the world, despite minimal promo. 

It was a record-breaker. When Gaga reached her lowest during the ARTPOP era, every move she made felt designed so she could re-peak years down the line. The treatment of female celebrities is excruciatingly harsh. Gaga dodging the fate of so many female artists before her was stunning. It shouldn't have happened. However, as someone who has examined the conceit of fame since her early days, it seemed only natural. Her music video for Paparazzi seemed to fortell a brutal fall of a celebrity and a massive comeback -- remember the "We Love Her Again" headlines? 

A Star Is Born opened the doors wide for Lady Gaga to explore whatever she wanted for her next record; it dropped the idea of business strategy and a need to rebrand her reputation. Lady Gaga cemented herself as a legend within this era, and no matter what would happen in the future, it would be a bonafide success (as we are seeing now with Chromatica). 

A Star Is Born, in several ways, felt like the ending of the second-half of her career. If 2009-2013 was her "Gaga", or more ambitious and creative side, than 2014-2018 was her "Lady" side; one that was more mature and vulnerable. It was the perfect narrative: the rise, fall and rising of the modern celebrity. As Gaga made very abundant, A Star Is Born was also the gateway for her to bust back into the pop scene that had sorely missed her...

Coming Tomorrow: 'A Retrospective Analysis: Enigma' (The residency) 

 

[NotMyFlop 1,979]

@pop ate my heart, @Salvador Sequea, @Alex Spade, @ARTGOD, @Thomas P, @Quartz, @Esme Squalor, @GreenDiamond, @PrincessDiez, @DiamondAngel, @GGVS, @Steven, @EuphoricVibez, & @spamuelbtanner.

 

As always, 

I have one more left before the massive Chromatica review. I think you will guys will love the Chromatica review. Thank you so much for sticking around! 

[Born in Chromatica 7]

Wow, I just read the whole review and it was such a great read. It is so true with Paparazzi with her downfall and then her rise to dominance once again. She played Ally so well in A Star is Born and I cannot wait to see her in more acting roles later on in her career. Thank you so much for this review and I am looking forward to the next post about the career of Lady Gaga. 

[JustJames 903]

It seems to me that you grasped and stated the purpose of the final touches that came to fruition in 2016-2017 via Joanne and 5'2" -- something I've tried to convey before -- perfectly:

18 minutes ago, NotMyFlop said:

deconstructed who she was to the point her role as Ally Campana would be believable. 

For me, the numerous threads that try to understand Joanne as an album and debate which singles should have been chosen, etc., fail to understand that THIS ^ was the single most important goal of that entire era. I've stated before that I think 5'2" opens with her telling us she "is going to star in a movie with Bradley Cooper" for a reason; because that movie, that role, that moment was what all of her hard work post-ARTPOP had been building toward. It was never important for Joanne to grab multiple #1 hits; it couldn't overshadow her most important work which was to come through ASIB.

I wasn't stanning much during these times, so while I can't imagine the excitement, I also can't imagine the frustration at how songs like ARUTW - which is on par with Million Reasons on Spotify and in WW acclaim - get paid dust. It's crazy how hard she worked for this role and soundtrack for Shallow to be the only piece that's ever crossed back over from Ally to Gaga. I understand not dedicating an entire tour to the soundtrack, but she deserved the support fans gave ARUTW and should've been able to see it reach the Top 10 of the US Charts, hear the applause after performing it, etc. Especially considering the post-Oscars blackout, I can't really understand not pushing ARUTW to Radio and through 1-2 performances, if not the same for INLA. 

[NotMyFlop 1,979]

11 hours ago, JustJames said:

I wasn't stanning much during these times, so while I can't imagine the excitement, I also can't imagine the frustration at how songs like ARUTW - which is on par with Million Reasons on Spotify and in WW acclaim - get paid dust. It's crazy how hard she worked for this role and soundtrack for Shallow to be the only piece that's ever crossed back over from Ally to Gaga. I understand not dedicating an entire tour to the soundtrack, but she deserved the support fans gave ARUTW and should've been able to see it reach the Top 10 of the US Charts, hear the applause after performing it, etc. Especially considering the post-Oscars blackout, I can't really understand not pushing ARUTW to Radio and through 1-2 performances, if not the same for INLA. 

I touch on this concept in my Enigma (residency) review that's coming later today. I don't think anyone one on her team knew it was going to be THAT successful, so she moved on to Enigma which would've complicated everything contractually. 

I personally think they should've done a super-mini A Star Is Born tour; it would've been a brilliant Oscar campaign to see how it resonated with millions across the globe. They could've vistited major cities across the world, performed just the songs from the album on a stool (very intimate) and I think it would've honestly gotten them more Oscars.

[anthonyv 121]

The utter silence and then the trailer and then no single was one of the most striking decisions from Cooper and Warner Brothers. They had a jewel in a box and would unwrap it with a bang. 

Think of this - the general public heard "Shallow" for the first time when sitting in a theater...and watching that scene unfold....I remember two ladies, who had to be in their seventies, grasp their chests in sheer shock and amazement at the end of that song...

It was a brilliant idea..

[Salvador Sequea 813]

I loved how everyone loved her again!

Even though I did wanted to hear some songs live, I totally agree with them on no doing such thing. That would've been a little bit unffair for the rest of the Oscars contenders, as you don't usually see that kind of treatment on any musical movie. 

I mean, having the name "Lady Gaga" on a movie was already enough to push popularity over the rest of the movies, cause she's such a strong force.

Bradley knew what he was doing 

[ARTGOD 3,266]

A big reason why ASIB was so successful is because it was so tied to Gaga’s 5 year long comeback narrative.

It was meant to be the culmination of everything she had done up to that point in her music career as much as it was meant to start Gaga’s career as serious actress.

We have already seen how ASIB helped her career and pretty much set her up for success with Chromatica. What will be interesting to see now is how her next acting projects will play out now that they don’t also have to serve the Gaga comeback narrative.

Following up ASIB will definitely be hard. Her big screen debut was critically and commercially successful so now everyone will be expecting a lot from her.

I think the Gucci movie will be a good move if that ends up materializing. Her next film should be about Gaga proving her chops as an actress and should be as removed from her persona as possible. She needs to disappear into that role .

She has already proved she can come back and dominate the charts everywhere, she has already proved that she’s a bankable leading actress. What she needs to prove now is that she can ACT. She needs to gun for that Best Actress Oscar win now .