'A Star Is Born': How Lady Gaga's 'Why Did You Do That?' 'SNL' came to be

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"A Star Is Born" has dominated the pop culture zeitgeist this fall, and one particular song from the box-office smash's No. 1 soundtrack has emerged as a sleeper hit: "Why Did You Do That?"

The song, which Lady Gaga's Ally performs on "Saturday Night Live" in the film, is positioned to be a soulless pop banger against the more "serious" rock-tinged songs that Ally sings with Bradley Cooper's Jackson Maine earlier on, but pop-loving fans have reclaimed the earworm-worthy jam in the weeks since "A Star Is Born" hit theaters.

Whether it's the repetitive chorus or the memorable choreography Gaga performs as Ally during the "SNL" performance or its opening lyrics that have dubbed it "that song about butts" ("Why do you look so good in those jeans?/Why'd you come around me with an ass like that?"), "Why Did You Do That?" is anything but forgettable.

AOL's Gibson Johns recently caught up with Lady Gaga's longtime choreographer, who choreographed all of the dance sequences in "A Star Is Born," and he shed some light on how the visuals for the scene came to be.

"I heard the song -- Gaga played it for me -- and then her and I just talked about it. What I loved about the song is that is sounded nothing like Gaga’s songs," Jackson explained to us. "It felt like a new vibe. I remember her just saying, 'I want it to be jerky!' [Laughs] I was like, 'Okay, I like that.'"

"So I went back to the studio with that one line in mind -- 'I want it to be jerky!' -- and took that and went with a pop/R&B style with a ‘90s feel to it," he added. "That was my inspiration, and I just created that 'SNL' moment."

Watch the official "Why Did You Do That?" choreography below:
https://twitter.com/LadyGagaNowNet/status/1052672220940648457

"Why Did You Do That?" is part of an unofficial trio of dance-tinged pop songs on the film's soundtrack that represent Ally's quick ascent to pop stardom during the second half of the movie, with the other two being "Hair Body Face" and "Heal Me."

"I worked with her [on both]," Jackson, who also plays Ally's choreographer in the film, said. "As far as the vibe goes, 'Heal Me' was choreographed and that was the first performance as Ally with her own music. We wanted the vibe to be more laid back with groove moves and hands waving in the air, which is what you saw."

"Then, with 'Hair Body Face,' there was choreography, and you actually saw it [briefly] in a rehearsal scene. There was a scene where I came in and said, 'Give me attitude!' and part of that choreography was from the song. So, yeah, choreography does exist for all three songs."

Jackson has worked with Lady Gaga since her 2008 debut single, "Just Dance," so he's well acquainted with the performer's constant desire to adapt her style and deliver something new for her fans. So, after a decade of being part of Gaga's evolution, the choreographer was more than prepared to help Gaga become Ally, two people that Jackson says are completely distinct from one another.

"This character Ally is not supposed to be anything like Lady Gaga in her style of movement, so with these particular songs like 'Why Did You Do That?,' 'Hair Body Face' or 'Heal Me,' or even with 'La Vie En Rose' in the drag club, it was all about her character and her vibe," Jackson explained. "How do I make Ally stand out as Ally? Instead of just saying, 'Why don’t we just do this movement we’ve done before because you, as Lady Gaga, can do it?,' I always approach it for the individual character and her style and aesthetic."

"That way, when we do go back to being Lady Gaga, it gives us a new vibe," he went on. "Being Ally was great, because the music was different, and I liked all that stuff. Now it’s like, what else can we do? It’s never the same approach twice, it’s just about how can I best help get across a character’s vibe through movement."

"A Star Is Born" is currently in theaters. Buy tickets here.

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