by SMF· Published September 28, 2018· Updated August 16, 2023

“Shallow” is a song from the 2018 musical romantic drama film titled A Star Is Born. The song is performed by American singer Lady Gaga and American actor Bradley Cooper. This powerful ballad sees the singers/narrators (Gaga and Cooper) exchanging profound lines about diving into the deep end and leaving the shallow area behind. Their sole reason for staying away from the shallow is in order to be safe from the world.

');var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; })(); You can view the lyrics, alternate interprations and sheet music for Lady Gaga's Shallow at Lyrics.org.

During her interview with Zane Lowe on his radio show on Beats 1, Lady Gaga shed more light on the lyrics of this tune. According to her, the lyrics focus on two individuals “talking to each other” about their burning desire to “dive into the deep” and be as far away from the “shallow area” as possible. She went on to refer to the song as a very special one. Gaga also revealed that the tune was made for the characters Ally and Jackson from the film A Star Is Born.

“I’m off the deep end, watch as I dive in
I’ll never meet the ground
Crash through the surface, where they can’t hurt us
We’re far from the shallow now”

Facts about “Shallow”

“Shallow” was written by Lady Gaga alongside three other songwriters, including the noted English musician and record producer Mark Ronson. The other two songwriters are Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt.

Gaga produced this track along with American music producer Benjamin Rice. Aside Gaga, Rice has worked with include Britney Spears, Robin Thicke and Selena Gomez.

The tune was premiered on September 27, 2018 on Zane Lowe’s radio show on Beats 1.

“Shallow” is one of the 34 tracks on the soundtrack album of the musical film A Star Is Born. The official title of that soundtrack album is A Star Is Born Soundtrack.

In her interview with Lowe during the song’s premier, Gaga revealed that Cooper was the one who personally pitched the entire project to her. She said the actor visited her at her house where they both performed “Midnight Special” by the band Creedence Clearwater Revival. Gaga further revealed that upon hearing Cooper’s singing voice she was instantly “blown away by it”.

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“Shallow” won the Oscar for Best Original Song at the 91st Academy Awards. In achieving this feat, it beat four other songs, including Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “All the Stars“. 

Does Lady Gaga appear in the movie A Star Is Born?

Yes. She plays the character Ally, who is a singer-songwriter and the love interest and mentor of Cooper’s character Jackson Maine. FYI: the film was directed and co-produced by Cooper. In addition to that, he also co-wrote the screenplay.

Is this the first time that Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga have worked together?

Yes. “Shallow” marks the first ever collaboration between the two stars.

Have Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper ever performed this song live?

Yes. The pair performed this song together live for the first time on January 26, 2019. The epic performance took place at the Las Vegas residency of Gaga. You can watch that stunning performance below:

Did “Shallow” win a Grammy?

Yes. It actually won multiple Grammy Awards. At the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, this song was nominated for as many as four Grammy Awards. Below are the categories in which it was nominated:

• Song of the Year
• Record of the Year
• Best Song Written for Visual Media
• Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

The song went on to win the latter two categories. It lost the former two categories to Childish Gambino’s “This Is America“.