Is Lady Gaga's Oscar Winning Song "Shallow" A Subtle Tudor Endorsement?
While she didn't wear a Tudor on the red carpet, there may be a subliminal reference hidden in her award-winning song "Shallow."
When Tudor signed Lady Gaga as their first female brand ambassador back in 2017, many were left wondering where Tudor would go with this relationship. Gaga was already a household name at the time – and 2017 was a hallmark year in her career. She had just performed at the Super Bowl, released her fifth studio album 'Joanne', and even won a Golden Globe for her role in American Horror Story.
Lady Gaga and Tudor
Unlike her fellow Tudor ambassador David Beckham, Lady Gaga isn't really known for wearing watches. She doesn't wear them during performances, red carpets, interviews, and we didn't spot any Black Bays during her performance in 'A Star Is Born'. However, the exposure she provides for Tudor through their ad campaigns and YouTube channel (click HERE) is quite good.
Tudor's flashy Lady Gaga ad campaign pairs her with the more masculine Black Bay collection. The 36mm Black Bay does look great on Gaga, and the $2,850 price point certainly appeals to her millennial centric audience. As watch guys (and gals) we just wish Ms. Gaga would wear the timepieces outside of her photo and video shoots.
While her fellow co-star (and IWC ambassador) Bradley Cooper religiously wears an IWC timepiece, Gaga prefers jewels. For the Oscars, she wore a $30 million dollar 128-carat Tiffany diamond. We know that Gaga is Born to Dare, but don't you think the Tudor Glamour collection would've looked great on the red carpet?
"Watches are diving" ?
Gaga's performance in 'A Star Is Born' was absolutely incredible and the film is certainly worthy of the recognition it's receiving. Cooper and Gaga's on-screen chemistry is so riveting that viewers (myself included) were left speechless. So when awards season rolled around, I wasn't at all surprised to see the film in contention. Beyond her impressive acting, Gaga's wrote multiple songs for the film, including today's topic "Shallow."
Here's the point I'd like to raise. In the song "Shallow", after professing her love for the film's leading man 'Jack', Gaga makes a reference to diving. If you listen closely, it certainly sounds like she's saying "watches are diving." Is this a reference to Tudor's dive watches? Did Gaga sneak in this subliminal reference? What do you hear?
The song "Shallow" is about finding and "falling" in love. This is no small task – since throughout the film, Cooper's character 'Jack' makes things quite difficult for Gaga's 'Ally'. The horological question we have for this lyric is if Gaga is saying "watch as I dive in" or our favorite "watches are diving." Both involve the physical act of diving, but we prefer the second verse, so let's consult the experts.
The official lyrics from Sony indeed paint a different picture for this verse:
I'm off the deep end, watch as I dive in
I'll never meet the ground
Crash through the surface, where they can't hurt us
We're far from the shallow now
#sad, but as watch nerds, we can't help but wonder if Gaga is actually singing the song as intended, or slipping in this subtle reference to Tudor? There wouldn't be anything wrong if she did. In fact, it would only help to increase awareness for timepieces, especially to her audience in the coveted 18-30 demographic. For now, we'll just put "Shallow" on repeat and pretend that Gaga is singing about watchmaking.
(Watchonista photography by Liam O'Donnell )