"I'll Never Love Again" is a song from the 2018 film A Star Is Born, performed by its stars Lady Gaga and director Bradley Cooper, whose character sings the final chorus in a flashback scene. The soundtrack includes both the film rendition and an extended solo recording by Gaga. A power ballad, it was written by Gaga, Natalie Hemby, Hillary Lindsey, and Aaron Raitiere, and produced by Gaga and Benjamin Rice. The song was developed during production of the film's ending, which Cooper continued revising while filming, and its climactic performance was shaped by Gaga's grief after the death of a close friend on the day the scene was shot.
"I'll Never Love Again" received widespread critical acclaim, with reviewers particularly praising Gaga's vocals and the emotional impact of the film's finale. Commercially, it topped the Slovak digital chart, reached the top ten of the record charts in Hungary, Ireland, and Scotland, and entered digital charts across Europe. The song was released to contemporary hit radio in France on May 27, 2019, as the soundtrack's third single. It became the album's second song to win the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media, after lead single "Shallow", making A Star Is Born the only visual media soundtrack to date to win the award more than once at the Grammy Awards.
Background and development "I'll Never Love Again" is a song created for the 2018 film A Star Is Born–starring Bradley Cooper as Jackson and Lady Gaga as Ally–, as well as its soundtrack. It was written by Gaga, Natalie Hemby, Hillary Lindsey, and Aaron Raitiere, and produced by Gaga and Benjamin Rice. The soundtrack contains the film version of the song, which also features vocals from Bradley Cooper, as well as an extended version with only Gaga singing the song. Gaga later recalled that Cooper was still deciding how to end the film musically during production, as the script was being rewritten and the team had a "trove of songs" to choose from. According to her, even on the day of filming the final scene, Cooper was still changing which song would be used for the finale while she prepared at the piano in her trailer.
When Gaga was getting ready to film the final scene of A Star Is Born, where she sings "I'll Never Love Again", the singer got a telephone call that her childhood friend Sonja Durham was in her last moments of Stage IV cancer. Gaga left the set and drove to meet Durham, but she arrived ten minutes after her friend died. She asked Durham's husband if she should return to filming; he replied, "You've gotta do what Sonja would want you to do", so she returned to the set. Co-star and director Bradley Cooper was supportive of Gaga's loss but Gaga was adamant about finishing the scene, so she stepped on the set and sang "I'll Never Love Again". Gaga said, "[Sonja] gave me a tragic gift that day and I took it with me to [the] set, and I sang that song for Jackson and for her on that very same day within an hour."
The scene was filmed at the Shrine Auditorium and Gaga's grief shaped the emotional intensity of the performance. Unsure of what tempo, key, or delivery would feel right in the moment, Gaga asked engineer Alex Ruder to prepare seven versions of the master in four tempos and three keys, so playback could be adjusted as needed during filming. Benjamin Rice said the song had to be sung live on set, believing that a pre-recorded vocal would not have conveyed the same emotion, since the final take captures Gaga crying and sounding "very emotional and tender". He added that the Shrine Auditorium's connection to Judy Garland's performance of "The Man That Got Away" in the 1954 version of A Star Is Born gave the venue a "poetic resonance". Rice also recalled that when the crew arrived at the venue on the morning of filming, Cooper decided to rework the set-up for the scene with producer Karen Murphy, and that the changes were carried out within hours. He described the day as "distinctly emotional" and said Gaga brought a "raw heart" to the performance that is visible in the finished film. As with the other live performances in the film, the scene was staged for an audience of extras who could not hear the backing track and often could not hear Gaga's vocals either, as the production avoided playing the music over the venue's public-address system during takes.
Use in film and composition
A Star Is Born concludes with a tribute concert held in Jackson Maine's memory after his suicide. Introducing herself as "Ally Maine", Ally, wearing a periwinkle gown, performs "I'll Never Love Again", a song reflecting their relationship that they had worked on together while he was in recovery. The climactic performance is intercut with a flashback of Jackson singing the song to her for the first time at the piano, a device that Kristen S. Hé of Vulture viewed as deliberately tear-jerking but effective in underscoring their dynamic: Jackson recognizes Ally's artistic potential, while she is the one who fully brings it to life. The film ends with Ally gazing toward the audience. On October 19, 2018, a music video was released for the song–initially as an Apple Music exclusive–, showcasing these scenes and other clips from the film.
Musically, "I'll Never Love Again" has been described as a melancholic torch song and power ballad, inspired by the music of the 1970s. It starts as a piano ballad, before the arrangement gradually expands with strings, including violins, violas, cellos, and double basses. Gaga's singing style ranges from soft cooing in her lower register to belting. Bethonie Butler of The Washington Post wrote that Gaga transitions into "a honey-tinged, almost jazzlike section that feels as though she ad-libbed it in the studio" in "I'll Never Love Again", and described her performance as consisting of "passionate but controlled vocal runs". The song is performed in the key of G major with a moderate tempo of 54 beats per minute in common time. It follows a chord progression of Gadd2–Em7–Cmaj9–D9sus in the verses and Gadd2–Em7(no3)–Cmaj9/E–D9sus in the chorus. Gaga's vocals span from G3 to E5. The lyrics talk about love and loss.
Reception Critical response "I'll Never Love Again" received widespread critical acclaim. Music journalists described it as "stunning" and "show-stopping". Several outlets predicted that it could earn Gaga an Academy Awards nomination for Best Original Song. Writing for Vanity Fair, Yohana Desta said although "Shallow" was the Oscar front-runner, "I'll Never Love Again" was "a more traditional choice" that served as "a perfect showcase" of Gaga's vocal range, and called it "the most heartrending song on the film's soundtrack". USA Today Patrick Ryan felt that with "I'll Never Love Again", "the film's devastating emotional closer", Gaga delivers a "formidable number about love and loss with searing vulnerability and grace", calling it a "transcendent achievement" that could "single-handedly net the singer-turned-actress her first Oscar" and reaffirm her status as "one of the best vocalists right now in any genre".
Billboard Tatiana Cirisano ranked Gaga's performance of "I'll Never Love Again" as the film's best scene, praising its "devastatingly beautiful" lyrics and Gaga's "full, skyscraper-high range". Jon Pareles of The New York Times compared the song to Harry Nilsson's "Without You" (1971) and Eric Carmen's "All by Myself" (1975), and complimented Gaga's "old-school finesse, timing, emotionality and lung power". In his film review for The Boston Globe, Ty Burr wrote that Gaga's "climactic memorial" performance of the song "will leave you a soggy mess". The Washington Post Emily Yahr described it as "searing", while Bethonie Butler, from the same publication, named it the soundtrack's best song and praised Gaga's "passionate but controlled vocal runs". Comparing it to "Shallow", NME Nick Reilly wrote that "things get similarly deep" with "I'll Never Love Again", "even if it comes dangerously close to dropping the accomplished emotional edge that came before." The Daily Telegraph Neil McCormick considered "I'll Never Love Again" and "Always Remember Us This Way" Gaga's best solo tracks on the album, writing that although they are "clichéd, sentimental and old-fashioned", they are also "powered by enough conviction and vocal drama" to show that Gaga has "the star power to go supernova in any musical era".
Several critics compared the song to performances by Whitney Houston. Ben Beaumont-Thomas of The Guardian called it a "hyper-emotional piano ballad", writing that Gaga "channels Whitney" in the verses but sounds "more affectingly girlish and vulnerable with the high-pitched chorus". Chris DeVille of Stereogum described it as a "fairly blatant attempt" to recapture the impact of Houston's version of "I Will Always Love You". The Plain Dealer Joey Morona felt the "soundtrack wraps up on a high note" with "I'll Never Love Again", which he likened to "show-stopping movie finale" ballads such as "I Will Always Love You" and Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" (1997). Natalie Walker of Vulture compared the song to a cross between Mariah Carey's "Without You" (1994) and Houston's "I Will Always Love You", and although she found the lyrics "too on the nose", she appreciated its "climactic finale anthem" quality. Adam White of The Independent wrote that Gaga evokes Whitney's "whoops and hums with uncanny aplomb" in "I'll Never Love Again", which as a result becomes "secretly the most cinematic number from A Star Is Born". For Entertainment Tonight, Alex Ungerman felt that "Always Remember Us This Way" would have been a more effective ending for the film, and called "I'll Never Love Again" "decent", but more like "a Whitney Houston b-side" than the movie's emotional peak.
Some reviewers particularly praised the film version of the track, which switches to Bradley Cooper's rendition near the end. Stereogum DeVille felt the song becomes "more powerful" when it cuts from Gaga's orchestral performance to Cooper "meekly plucking it out at a piano". Brittany Spanos of Rolling Stone felt that "I'll Never Love Again" is "meant to be the biggest moment after a series of big moments" and already "feels as earned as the first time Ally sang an original song in front of an audience", but that the film version becomes truly affecting when it switches to Jackson singing it to Ally at home, at which point "it becomes as classic as the star it births". Pitchfork Larry Fitzmaurice called it a "heart-wrenching closer" and wrote that although it is "plenty effective on its own", the dialogue-included version mirrors the film's ending by abruptly cutting away from Gaga's "time-stopping performance" to "a pivotal and heartbreaking scene" that "only enhances the song's emotional quotient".
Accolades
At the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2020, "I'll Never Love Again" won the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media, one year after the victory of lead single "Shallow" in the same category. This made A Star Is Born the first movie which gained two wins in this category. "I'll Never Love Again" was also handed out an award in the "Song That Left Us Shook" category at the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards.
Chart performance