Garth Brooks pleased longtime fans when he finally released the studio version of his cover of A Star Is Born‘s “Shallow” as a duet with his wife, fellow country singer Trisha Yearwood. But have the co-stars behind the 2018 remake of the classic American film and musical — who are also the original tune’s first singers — pop star Lady Gaga and actor Bradley Cooper, heard the country couple’s rendition?
It would appear that they have not, and Brooks and Yearwood might want to keep it that way! At least that’s what the pair indicated when they recently dropped in on Taste of Country Nights for a chat. While discussing the song, hosts Evan and Amber asked if the film’s leading twosome had heard their new version.
“I’d love to say I’ve talked to ’em, but no, I wouldn’t know,” Brooks responds. “We’ve met both of them on different occasions, and they’re both very, very sweet people. Both very talented people.”
Adds Yearwood, “As long as we haven’t heard from them, we think they love it! So we don’t really wanna know … I hope they’ll see it as a tribute and a nod to a great song and a great performance.”
But how did Brooks and Yearwood end up covering the number in the first place? Fans likely know they first attempted the tune during a Facebook livestream as part of Brooks’ Inside Studio G earlier this year. Then, in April, the couple reprised it on their Garth and Trisha: Live by Request! TV special.
Looking back, Yearwood sums up the tale: ”We saw the movie and, like everybody else, loved it,” the singer explains. “But we didn’t watch the movie and say, ‘We should cut that song.’ It was months and months after that. And it was a huge hit, of course, so why would you cover someone else’s huge hit? It’s also Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga — she’s one of the most gifted singers on the planet. But we were doing a Facebook Live, a live by request, and somebody asked for it.
“So we did a piece of it, and that kinda started this ball rolling. And we did it again on the CBS special, just another little piece of it,” she continues, “and then it was like, ‘You guys have to record it.'”
Now, a widely available recording of the Brooks and Yearwood duet of “Shallow” does indeed exist. And it includes some immaculate vocal runs from Yearwood, as the singer’s ever-gushing husband points out.
“There’s something in that recording,” Brooks effuses of the rendition with his wife. “When she comes in, the band goes somewhere different. They just become a different band, more of a beast.”
The “Dive Bar” crooner also commended Gaga for her writing credit on “Shallow.”
“What defines a great song is if two people sing it, and then two different people sing it,” he says. “And both versions feel like their own. And I think that’s what happened on this record for us.”
“Shallow” will appear on Brooks’ upcoming album, Fun.
