Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper Heat Up 2019 Oscars with Intimate 'Shallow' Performance

Cooper and Gaga finished their song singing affectionately cheek-to-cheek as the cameras gave a 360-degree look at the performance, which ended with the two staring into each other's eyes

By

Dana Rose Falcone

Published on February 24, 2019 10:19PM EST

Watch as they dive in!

Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper stepped right out of their seats in the front row of the Dolby Theatre to take the stage at Sunday night’s Academy Awards to perform the nominated song “Shallow” from A Star Is Born.

Gaga played the piano during the intimate take on the track and Cooper initially sat on a nearby stool before joining the pop star on the piano bench. They then sang affectionately cheek-to-cheek as the cameras gave a 360-degree look at their performance, which ended with the two staring into each other’s eyes.

Gaga and Cooper’s chemistry was palpable as they smiled and hugged as they walked off the stage.

During the subsequent commercial break, they came out arm-in-arm to huge cheers from the entire house. Cooper kissed and hugged girlfriend Irina Shayk when he got back to his seat.

Backstage immediately after their performance, Cooper and Gaga hugged tightly and were met with a swarm of clapping well-wishing production staff.

“Did I nail it?” asked Gaga. Taking in the congratulations, she looked at Cooper and said, “I’m so f—ing proud of you!”

From left: Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper performing at the 2019 Oscars. Kevin Winter/Getty

With only a few seconds to get back to their seats, a handler disengaged Gaga from her mic-pack attached to the back of her dress — and Cooper and Gaga, side by side, made their way to their seats via the stage.

“Shallow” received a Best Original Song nomination while A Star Is Born — which Cooper co-wrote and directed — is up for Best Picture. Gaga, 32, and Cooper, 44, also earned acting nods for their starring roles.

Be sure to check out PEOPLE’s full Oscars coverage to get the latest news on film’s biggest night.

In the movie, Gaga’s aspiring singer-songwriter character Ally composes “Shallow” and sings it to Jackson Maine (Cooper), a past-his-prime rocker she meets when he stumbles into a drag bar where she performs one night after his concert.

He falls in love with the song — and her — and soon brings Ally on tour to perform it with him.

Ally ends up becoming the bigger star and outshines Jack, whom she marries during her rise to fame.

91st Annual Academy Awards - Show — Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. Kevin Winter/Getty

The costars surprised fans during Gaga’s Las Vegas concert on Jan. 26 by performing “Shallow” live for the first time.

In the middle of her Enigma residency show at the Park MGM, the “Poker Face” singer said to the crowd: “So a really good friend of mine … I don’t know if you know him, but his name is Bradley. He made that movie A Star Is Born.”

The actor later revealed that he felt more like himself than his character during that performance.

“I watched the video back … I just look like this sort of idiot from Philadelphia who’s singing with Lady Gaga,” Cooper joked on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert earlier this month. “But I was like, ‘Oh, Jackson’s gone.’ ”