Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s Oscars 'Shallow' Performance Was a Masterclass in Flirting

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You know those moments when you see two complete strangers out on a date or something, just totally going at each other, just making out all over the place, and it’s kinda gross and kinda weird and maybe uncomfortable, but also a little bit hot and utterly mesmerizing? There are plenty of those couples around, and then there's Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. 

Gaga and Cooper's chemistry throughout the entirety of A Star Is Born (despite one unfortunate pants-wetting incident) is undeniable and relentless, driving the two through a love story for the ages. That also describes their live performance of Best Original Song nominee (and winner!) "Shallow," which, besides spawning a million memes, was the most talked about and most powerful movie moment of 2018. When the two hit the stage, it was as if all of those months since the movie's premiere melted away, and we were back in that giant arena watching Jackson Maine cajole giddy young Ally onto the stage for the performance of her life. 

Cooper stood at his mic while Gaga sat at a giant grand piano for the first part of their duet. Right after Gaga's trademark "Haaaaa-aaaa-aaa-aaa-aaaaaaaaahhh" hit mid-song, Cooper stepped away from his own mic and joined her at the bench, leaning in so close their two faces almost became one face. Are they gonna make out?????? the world wondered. Sadly, no, but they might as well have. We're all for platonic heterosexual relationships, but come on. As they say, there can be 100 people on a room, and... well, you know the rest.

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Emma Stefansky is a staff entertainment writer at Thrillist. Follow her on Twitter @stefabsky.