During Kelly Clarkson’s Meaning of Life tour stop at Green Bay in 2019, she surprised concertgoers with a powerhouse cover of “Shallow” – Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s Grammy Award-winning duet for the film A Star is Born.
Guess we can all call Clarkson the cover queen with all the covers she delivered through the years. In a video from the performance, which Clarkson uploaded on her Facebook page, the American Idol superstar shared how she loves doing covers. She said that even if “there’s a lot of competition always with artists in the industry, there’s a lot of us that just dig each other, and we really get inspired by each other.”
But Clarkson’s solo performance of the emotional song from the Oscar-nominated film is enough to give you goosebumps. The Voice coach started by sharing why she thinks Lady Gaga is such an “amazing” artist and “the nicest human being ever.”
“We’re really different, but at the same time, we’re really similar in the fact that she just loves music, and that’s why she’s doing what she’s doing,” Clarkson said. “Honestly, I remember her first single, we actually did a show together combined for some event, and she is one of the only artists that has ever — she wrote me a hand-written note saying, ‘Thank you so much, it was an honor to open for you.'”
Clarkson then introduced her version of the moving song by reminding the audience that she doesn’t have Bradley Cooper on stage to support her. “I hope I don’t suck,” she said. “And if I do, I hope [Lady Gaga] doesn’t see it.”
Judging by the crowd’s reaction, Clarkson certainly did not “suck.” She sang “Shallow” effortlessly, with her signature powerful raspy voice lending itself entirely to the song. Well, who needs it to be a duet when your voice is strong enough to go for it solo?
People on Twitter were calling her rendition of “Shallow” a “holy experience” and a “masterpiece.” Others were applauding her for giving the original song the cover treatment it truly deserves.
For You
An Award-Winning Song For An Award-Winning Film
Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s A Star is Born received numerous accolades, including eight nominations at the 91st Academy Awards, such as Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actor. “Shallow,” on the other hand, won Best Original Song.
The film also earned five nominations during the 76th Golden Globe Awards; among these are Best Motion Picture – Drama, and it won Best Original Song for “Shallow.” The film’s soundtrack received seven Grammy nominations, winning four, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Song of the Year twice.
Written by Gaga with Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt, and Anthony Rossomando, “Shallow” can be heard three times throughout the film, most notably during a scene when Cooper’s character invited Gaga’s character to perform it onstage with him. The memorable scene was filmed in front of a live audience at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles.
“Tell me somethin’ girl. Are you happy in this modern world? Or do you need more? Is there somethin’ else you’re searchin’ for? I’m falling in all the good times I find myself longin’ for change. And in the bad times, I fear myself,” Copper Sings.
“Tell me something, boy. Aren’t you tired tryin’ to fill that void? Or do you need more? Ain’t it hard keeping it so hardcore?” Gaga answers
“Shallow,” without a doubt, is a pivotal moment in A Star Is Born as it speaks about the main character’s conversations. You can watch a clip of Kelly Clarkson’s cover in the video below and see for yourself how impressively she does it solo.
