"Is That Alright?" is a song from the 2018 film A Star Is Born and soundtrack of the same name, performed by American singer Lady Gaga. It was produced by Gaga, Mark Nilan Jr., Nick Monson, and Paul "DJ White Shadow" Blair; writing credits include all of them besides Lukas Nelson and Aaron Raitiere. The track is sung by Gaga's in-movie character, Ally, as a loving ode to Bradley Cooper's character, Jackson. It plays during the end credits of the original, theatrical cut of A Star Is Born, while appearing in the wedding scene in its extended, Encore edition. The song charted within the top 30 in Hungary, Scotland, and Slovakia. It received positive reviews, with critics complimenting Gaga's vocals.
"Is That Alright?" first appeared as a snippet shared by Lady Gaga on September 25, 2018, in a teaser for her film, A Star Is Born, for which the song was written.[1] The video gave a minute-long preview of the track, along with various clips from the movie.[2] It later appeared as the twenty-fifth track of the standard version of the movie's soundtrack album, released on October 5, 2018.[3][4] "Is That Alright?" is a power ballad with piano instrumentation.[5][6] It is a "vulnerable" love song, composed in "the same vein" as the soundtrack's "Shallow" and 'I'll Never Love Again".[6]
The song's writers and producers were Gaga, Mark Nilan Jr., Nick Monson, and Paul "DJ White Shadow" Blair, with Lukas Nelson and Aaron Raitiere providing additional writing.[7] Talking about the writing process for the film, Blair said that "for every song that made it onto the album", they "wrote at least four others, in various iterations", which gave options when they had to decide which songs to keep for the story. He also added that "Is That Alright?" became his favorite song which ultimately ended up on the soundtrack.[8] The track is performed in the key of G major with a moderate tempo of 105 beats per minute in common time. It follows a chord progression of G–G/B–Em–C during the verses and G–Em–G/B-G during the chorus, and the vocals span from E3 to E5.[9] Gaga's singing style shifts from belting to soft whispers in the song.[6]
"Is That Alright?" played during the end credits in the original, theatrical cut of A Star Is Born.[8] It is Ally's pledge to Jackson (the main characters of the movie, played by Gaga and Bradley Cooper), where she vows to love him until the end of her life.[10]USA Today wrote that the track is "painting an evocative picture of their whirlwind romance as Gaga alternates between tender storyteller and throaty power belter", declaring "I want you at the end of my life... Wanna see your face when I fall with grace at the moment I die."[11]Screen Rant thought the song "gives audiences another glimpse at what makes their relationship truly special", with Ally, "the up and coming singer ... put[ting] her heart into every verse."[12]AVulture article argued that by placing "Is That Alright?" at the very end of the story, it can be interpreted as "a tragic ode to future dreams that'll go unfulfilled."[10] The same outlet pointed out the "lunatic level of adoration and tenderness" from Ally's character in the song, underscored by the "Nothing you say wouldn't interest me" line in the lyrics.[5]
A deleted scene from A Star Is Born, involving Ally's performance of "Is That Alright?", got featured between the DVD/Blu-ray extras of the film in February 2019.[13] After a one-week long limited release in cinemas the following March,[14] an extended cut of the movie was released to home media in June 2019, titled A Star Is Born: Special Encore Edition.[15] This version of the movie gives a longer scene of Jackson and Ally's wedding reception and reinstates "Is That Alright?" into the story.[16] Ally sits down at the band piano, grabbing the microphone, and says to Jackson: "When we gave our vows at the altar, I just didn't get to say everything I wanted to say. So I wrote it down, and I brought it here. I hope it's okay if I love you forever, Jack."[a] She then sings "Is That Alright?".[17]Slate's Heather Schwedel said the track originally was "a bit of a mistery", but the Encore edition "fills in why this song existed in the first place" with the "sweet" extra scene.[18]
Some outlets found the song to be reminiscent of the style of Adele.
"Is That Alright?" received positive reviews from journalists, who complimented Gaga's vocals and found the track emotional. A column by Vulture regarded the song "more reminiscent of Adele than Lady Gaga",[10] an opinion concurred by The Guardian, where it was analyzed as one of the tracks from the soundtrack which could have been "in the songbooks of Elton John or Adele for years".[19] Wren Graves of Consequence called it a "big Broadway ballad", evoking the Wicked's "Defying Gravity" (2003) and Evita's "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" (1976).[20] It reminded Bustle's Tatiana Tenreyro to Gaga's own ballads, "Speechless" (2009) and "Million Reasons" (2016), though she added, "this one has lyrics that feel even more vulnerable, showing how much Ally desires Jackson's love and sees him as The One."[7] In his review of the soundtrack, Chris DeVille of Stereogum felt that the "blustery piano ballad 'Is That Alright?' and 'Always Remember Us This Way' [...] would work as Joanne bonus tracks, and they're at least as good as "Million Reasons", that album's one true hit."[21]
According to Joey Morona from The Plain Dealer, "Is That Alright?" is a "moving" love song with Gaga's "signature emotion and power". He felt the song is on the same level as the album's "Shallow" and "I'll Never Love Again", envisioning a "three-song race" for an Academy Awards nomination in the Best Original Song category.[b][23]Vulture's Natalie Walker claimed it is the best track from the soundtrack, thinking "the vocal and energetic bipolarity of this song is what makes it so endlessly affecting". She further added: "High notes are impressive, midrange belting is powerful, light and airy falsetto moments are pretty; the tessitura in which the verses of 'Is That Alright' exist strips Gaga bare of any vocal pyrotechnics, and all we are left to focus on are the specifics of her yearning pleas for all-encompassing intimacy." Gaga's singing "at the bottom of her range" recalled Beyoncé's 2009 single, "Halo" for Walker.[5] Hunter Harris, from the same website, similarly praised "Is That Alright?", calling it "arguably A Star Is Born's greatest song", and noted how director Bradley Cooper "made amends" by including the track in the actual movie in its later Encore version.[17] Paris Close at iHeart believed "the number is every bit of warm and vulnerable and fearless as the singer-songwriter belts her heart out to her beloved."[24] Daniel Megarry of Gay Times felt the track was "tear-jerking",[25] while Mike Neid at Idolator highlighted Gaga's "soaring" voice "over an evocative production".[2]
Ben Beaumont-Thomas of The Guardian remarked the lyrics "on the page" are "almost ludicrous, but on record it grabs your ribcage". He further added that the song's "earnestness is [...] completely sold by Gaga", and suggested the song could become popular on wedding receptions.[19]AtThe Ringer, Alyssa Bereznak appreciated "the structural conceit of this song: a stream-of-consciousness outpouring of tender sentiment, followed by a forceful chorus full of demands for eye contact and eternal matrimony, capped off with a sweet, searching question".[26] Writing for The Daily Telegraph, Neil McCormick opined the song "may be a predictably constructed soapy piano ballad but in the plotline's context of a lovelorn woman grasping for joy in a doomed romance, it won't leave a dry eye in the house."[27] For The Washington Post's Bethonie Butler, "Is That Alright?" is a "sweet but cheesy ballad."[28] Adam White of The Independent deemed it one of the more forgettable tracks of the soundtrack, though he noted "Gaga belting her heart out against a piano melody as if her life depended on it".[29]
^ abA Star Is Born (Credits from Liner notes). Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. Interscope Records. 2018. B0028726-01. Archived from the original on October 11, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)