"SHALLOW" GOES DEEP: RADIO'S FINALLY GAGA FOR STAR SMASH

The radio story of "Shallow," the Lady Gaga-Bradley Cooper single from Interscope’s A Star Is Born, is a fascinating example of a song that was first killed by callout research—overruling huge active streaming and sales numbers—and then experienced a glorious resurrection. "Shallow" had peaked at #20 at Pop last December, as research showed it wasn’t "familiar" enough to listeners.

But awards season changed that dynamic, to say the least, starting with the Golden Globes and going through Grammys and, finally, the Oscars.

"After Gaga won the Golden Globe for 'Shallow,'" Interscope promo chief Brenda Romano remembers, "we could feel the excitement start to build; we were convinced it should get another shot at radio, and we reserviced it. After the Oscars performance, we knew there was something magical there. We asked stations to put the song back into callout, and it came back strong."

New reports from major-market stations put the song back in the Top 10 at Hot AC and trending #32 at Top 40. We’re thinking "Shallow" feels pretty familiar nowadays.