A Star Is Born

The song that opens the film with Jackson's performance, powerfully establishing the world of rock he inhabits from the very first scene.

• The raw guitar riff (a short, repeated melodic phrase) in the opening immediately defines the rough world of the character Jackson.
• Cooper performed this song as live singing (recorded on location) in front of a real audience. The crowd's cheers were captured directly in the recording, creating a sense of immediacy.
• The low, pressed-down singing style is often cited as evidence of the vocal range the actor lowered through long training.
• The repeated chorus is built so the whole venue sings along, proving in sound just how beloved Jackson is on stage.

A classic French chanson that Ally sings on the drag bar stage, the song that opens the two characters' first meeting.

• The original is a chanson by Édith Piaf, and Ally takes the stage singing someone else's song rather than her own.
• The arrangement (the way instruments are laid out and combined), which starts without accompaniment and gradually adds instruments, mirrors how the attention of the audience—and Jackson—increasingly gathers on her.
• Choosing an unadorned vocal delivery amid elaborate makeup is what made this scene famous, and many viewers name it as the first moment they remember from the film.
• While the French lyrics are sung, the camera lingers on Jackson's face. It is the listener's reaction, more than the song itself, that drives the story.

The melody hummed in the parking lot is completed here, becoming the first song the two sing together—and the song that has come to represent the film's music.

• The structure, which starts low and rises sharply in range toward the end, traces exactly how the two voices gradually merge into one.
• The short, intense bridge (the bridge-like passage connecting verses) melody has become the moment that has come to symbolize this song at awards shows.
• The awards it received, including the Academy Award for best original song, made it the name that represents this film's music.
• Using live singing (recording on location) instead of studio recording is cited as the key to this performance's vitality.

A song Jackson sings alone with just a guitar, quietly speaking of aging and time while foreshadowing what's to come.

• Sung by Jackson alone with just a guitar, this song speaks plainly of aging and the passage of time.
• The short recurring melodic fragment reappears later in the film in another character's voice, functioning like a leitmotif in which a single melody points beyond one character to the story as a whole.
• The passage that unfolds purely as humming, without lyrics, conveys emotions that words alone cannot fully express.
• This song was written alone by a country music songwriter, apart from the three main composers, occupying a somewhat different place within the soundtrack.

A ballad Ally sings as she settles into life as a pop star, one that does not lose its sincerity even within a commercial arrangement.

• The harmony that slowly builds over the piano accompaniment carries Ally's wish to hold on to the time she spent with Jackson.
• The moment the voice soars in the chorus follows the grammar of the pop ballad while still holding on to the character's sincerity.
• Even dressed in a commercial arrangement, the lyrics' mode of address still leans toward personal confession, aligning it with the earlier stage songs.

A stage song showcasing the new image the label has built for Ally, revealing the change Jackson finds most alienating.

• The synthesizer-driven arrangement and repeated hook (a short melody repeated to stick in the ear) directly display the new image the label has created for Ally.
• This performance, complete with stage costume and choreography, leads into the scene where Jackson feels most estranged.
• The overly lightweight lyrics and arrangement divided audiences at the time of release over whether they were intentional exaggeration or simply a misstep.

Performed together again on the awards-show stage, this song brings back a melody heard earlier, now returning with a different emotion.

• Sung together by the two of them on the awards-show stage, this song brings back a fragment of an earlier melody, letting the audience hear a tune they already know with a different emotion.
• Near the end of the film it returns in a stripped-down arrangement with far sparer accompaniment, creating a closing mood that contrasts with the film's lavish opening.
• Starting low and building to an explosive burst in the second half, this structure is often cited as the melody that closes out the film's score as a whole.