You may not be gearing up for a performance at the Oscars (yet), but with the influx of live television musicals and enduring popularity of singing competition shows, it isn’t unlikely that you could soon find yourself singing on the small screen. Needless to say, if and when you do, the pressure will be on.
Someone who certainly knows a thing or two about hitting the right note—literally—when it comes to televised performance is Lady Gaga. In addition to high-stakes gigs like the Super Bowl halftime show and national anthem, Gaga just added the Academy Awards to her roster. If you watched Sunday’s broadcast, you know she and Bradley Cooper’s performance of “Shallow” is one that immediately marched into legend.
Despite all her vocal expertise, Gaga actually credits her “A Star Is Born” co-star Cooper with providing the advice that propelled her into the performance.
How to Become a Singer “One of the hardest things in life is to be brave enough to be yourself. I wish everyone that is going to that celebration [feels] a joy inside of them.’ That’s actually what Bradley said to me yesterday, right before we did our last rehearsal for this performance of ‘Shallow,’ ” Gaga said following the show, according to The Cut. “He said, ‘Let’s just drop a little bit of joy.’ And I said, ‘OK.’ And turns out, joy did a whole lot for me.”
Gaga wasn’t short on her own advice that evening, though. In her acceptance speech for the best song trophy, she provided artists watching at home with the only call to arms she knows.
“I’ve worked hard for a long time and it’s not about winning. What it’s about is not giving up,” she said. “If you have a dream, fight for it. If there’s a discipline or a passion, it’s not about how many times you get rejected or you fall down or get beaten up. It’s about how many times you stand up and are brave and keep on going.”
Give her a second Oscar just for that speech, honestly.
Check out Backstage’s TV audition listings!