Lady Gaga’s “Shallow” won best original song at Sunday’s Academy Awards telecast, in a culmination of what may have been the least suspenseful race of this year’s Oscars. Gaga had performed the tune from “A Star Is Born” as a duet with Bradley Cooper a short time earlier, in a riveting performance that earned a standing ovation.
The award for “Shallow” went to Gaga and co-writers Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt and Anthony Rossomando.
“Bradley: there’s not a single person on the planet that could have sung this song with me but you,” said a tearful Gaga. “Thank you for believing in us. … And if you are at home and you’re sitting on your couch, and you are watching this right now, all I have to say is that this is hard work. I’ve worked hard for a long time, and … it’s not about winning. But what it’s about is not giving up. If you have a dream, fight for it. There’s a discipline for passion, and it’s not about how many times you get rejected or you fall down, or you’re beaten. It’s about how many times you stand up, and are brave, and you keep going.”
Composer Ludwig Göransson won the best original score Oscar for “Black Panther.”
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Göransson thanked director Ryan Coogler, recalling that 12 years ago, they were “sitting in our dorm at USC, writing the score for your first short film, and we’re here 12 years later celebrating one of the most important cinematic moments in history.” He thanked the African musicians who played on the score (including vocalist Baaba Mal) as well as the London orchestra.
The Swedish-born, L.A.-based composer won the gold for his richly detailed, African-influenced music for the Marvel movie. He spent a month in West Africa, researching and recording the drums, flutes and vocals of Senegalese musicians, which he later wove into a large-scale orchestral and choral score that was recorded in London.
“Black Panther” was Göransson’s first Oscar nomination and third collaboration with Coogler, following their indie hit “Fruitvale Station” and commercial hit “Creed.” His other films include “Venom” and “Creed II,” and he is now writing “The Mandalorian” for television.
He recently won three Grammys: one for his “Black Panther” score and two for his other life in music, as a collaborator with Childish Gambino, for record of the year and song of the year.
The “Shallow” writers were all enjoying their first nominations as well as wins.
“Shallow” was originally intended to run over the end credits of “A Star Is Born,” to tie in with a climactic scene in which Cooper was to have drowned himself in the ocean, as some of the male figures in previous incarnations of the screen story have. When a switch was made that didn’t involve such a watery denouement, the song stuck, albeit with fewer metaphorical implications — and found an even better home in multiple scenes where Gaga’s character first sings it to Cooper’s in a parking lot, then has her star-birthing moment when he invites her on stage to sing it at the Greek.