Lady Gaga won her first Oscar playing up-and-coming singer/songwriter Ally Maine alongside Bradley Cooper in 2018′s A Star is Born. Interestingly, she beat out several other famous pop stars to book the role.

A Star is Born signified the first time that Mother Monster took the lead in a blockbuster. She landed a nomination for Best Actress at the 2019 Oscars and snagged the award for Best Original Song at the ceremony.

Years later, her award-winning duet with Bradley “Shallow” is still generating headlines.

While she’s iconic in the role, some fans might not be aware that A Star is Born is a movie that had already been made three times before Lady Gaga was cast. The first version of the movie was released in 1937 and starred Janet Gaynor; the second came out in 1954 with Judy Garland in the lead. Barbra Streisand took center stage in the version of the movie released in 1976.

A fourth version of A Star is Born had been in the works for years with various talent associated with it by the time that Gaga was cast. That included four other female vocalists who could have landed the starring role. One of them was even attached to the movie at least twice, with reports suggesting that she wasn’t selected because the studio couldn’t afford her asking price.

Who were they and what happened that led to them being overlooked? We did all the digging!

Scroll through all of the musical acts that were considered for Lady Gaga’s part in A Star Is Born…

Esperanza Spalding

Before Bradley Cooper took over directing the movie and landed the role of the starring man, Clint Eastwood was involved with the project. In 2012, Variety reported that he was considering then up-and-coming jazz artist Esperanza Spalding for the role.

Esperanza won Best New Artist at the Grammys in 2011 and picked up a couple more wins at the 2013 ceremony for her album Radio Music Society.

It isn’t immediately clear how far Esperanza got in the process. However, she was no longer mentioned as a possible frontrunner for the role when Bradley was attached to the project in 2015.

Alicia Keys

Even before Esperanza was considered for the part, there were whispers that Alicia Keys was a frontrunner. In 2002, her manager Jeff Robinson confirmed that she’d been approached and offered a chance to audition. However, he stressed to MTV that they were not interested.

“She was asked to do it,” he explained, “but her first movie shouldn’t be a movie where she’s basically playing herself. I don’t think that’s real acting, playing yourself. I think her first film should be a little more challenging, a little bit more dramatic. A smaller role, then she grows into a starring role. When you’re the focal point of the movie and you’re expected to carry a movie on your back, I think that’s a mistake a lot of singers fall into.”

Alicia made her film debut in Smokin’ Aces in 2006 and starred in The Secret Life of Bees in 2008. It’s her last big film role.

Jennifer Lopez

Also in 2002, Will Smith was being considered as the male lead in a remake of A Star is Born. He told TV Guide that Alicia was being considered. Another name he floated as a possibility was Jennifer Lopez. He said that she “loved” the concept at the time.

“What I like about Jennifer is that you could go Latin. The music and the environment could be the Latin world, which would be different from all of the other [versions]. I think it needs to be different,” he said.

Will continued, noting, “I’m trying to figure out a way to make it different, to make it special. But it has to be right. You can’t step into something like that and not have it [be] perfect.”

2002 is the year that Jennifer released her rom-com hit Maid in Manhattan.

Beyonce

Last up on the list is Beyonce, who was tied to the project at least twice over the years. Deadline noted that she was a frontrunner alongside Will, who was still tied to the project in 2010. The following year, the outlet reported that her pregnancy with Blue Ivy called the timeline for the film into question. Variety reported that she exited the project in 2012, leading to Esperanza being considered.

Beyonce was again linked to the movie in 2016. However, Vulture reported that the studio was unable to meet her asking price. That same year it was reported that Lady Gaga had entered talks to star in the movie.