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As A Star Is Born shoots past $250 million at the global box office, its soundtrack sits atop Billboard charts for the third consecutive week since dropping Oct. 5.
A release date of only five days earlier would have made the 34-track album eligible for Grammy nominations, so why did the filmmakers hold out?
Producer Lynette Howell explains to THR that it was a very specific decision made with spoilers in mind. “We didn’t want to release the soundtrack before the movie because the soundtrack really is the story of the film. There are multiple tracks in there that are soundbites from the film and so it was really important that people experience them simultaneously and it was important to Bradley that audiences got a chance to experience the movie first or at least alongside,” she explained.
The lone track that will be eligible for the forthcoming Grammys is “Shallow,” which made the cut by coming out Sept. 27. Gold statues aside, Howell continues that the success of the film and soundtrack have delivered “an amazing few weeks,” adding “it’s just a dream when audiences show up and respond the way they’ve responded.”
The film and its soundtrack must also be a dream come true for Gaga. A Star Is Born is the first soundtrack to spend its first three weeks at No. 1 in more than 10 years, and marks the first album of her career to spend three weeks in the No. 1 position.
When it comes to Star is Born director and Gaga’s scene and singing partner, Bradley Cooper, as it turns out he won’t be in the running in the best song category at this year’s Oscars. According to THR’s Feinberg Forecast, Cooper remains a front runner in a host of categories for the 2019 Academy Awards, Warner Bros. is submitting three tunes for Oscar consideration on which Lady Gaga is a writer but none on which Cooper collaborated.
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A version of this story first appeared in the Oct. 31 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
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