Lady Gaga has become as well known for her outrageous fashion choices as for the music she makes.
From the infamous raw meat dress to a custom-made telephone hat, a bra that shoots fire to a floor-length red latex dress fit for the Queen, Gaga has never been one to dress down for an occasion.
Even her most recent album, 2016’s Joanne featured an unmistakable, oversized pink cowboy hat. It’s fair to say that Gaga has never been one to get lost in a crowd.
The album also saw Gaga try her hand at a more mellow, almost country sound, rather than the straight-up pop and electro songs she’s known for.
It seems that Gaga has caught the country bug, as her next release is not an album but a film about an aspiring country singer, who is helped on the road to stardom by a washed-up performer.
Called A Star Is Born, the film is the directorial debut of Bradley Cooper, of The Hangover, Wedding Crashers and Guardians of the Galaxy (among many others).
Gaga plays Ally, a shy singer-songwriter seeking fame, but scared to find her own voice. And, as we’ve come to expect from such a performer, she gives nothing less than 100 per cent to the role.
Check out the trailer here:
Doing away with her usual flamboyant outfits, makeup and signature blonde hair, Gaga appears brunette in the film, in outfits that are a far cry from her normal stage attire.
Many fans are saying she’s more stunning than ever with a more natural look.
The role is somewhat of a departure from Gaga’s recent performance as the creepy Elizabeth Johnson/The Countess in American Horror Story: Hotel, for which she won a Golden Globe.
Bradley Cooper has also undergone a transformation for the whole, albeit a much more subtle one, as he appears with long hair, a beard, and looking ruggedly dishevelled. As well as directing, Cooper plays Jackson Maine, the ageing singer who helps Gaga’s character on the road to stardom.
Comedian Dave Chappelle also stars in the film.
The trailer shows both Cooper and Gaga taking to the stage to sing. As IndieWire reports, Gaga was adamant that the pair did not rely on prerecorded backing tracks for the movie, and instead have all the performers sing live during filming. The actors even appeared at festivals like Coachella and Glastonbury to film live onstage in front of real audiences.
Gaga recently starred in a Netflix documentary about herself, you can watch the trailer here:
If you think you’ve heard that title before, this isn’t the first time A Star Is Born has been released. In fact, it’s not even the second.
Cooper’s version of the story is a remake of a 1937 film of the same name, which was adapted into a musical in 1954 starring Judy Garland. It was then re-adapted for a rock musical in 1976, which starred Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson.
It seems like Cooper and Gaga have got quite a bit to live up to! We’re sure they can pull it off.
A Star Is Born is out in the UK October 5, 2018
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.