"I'll Never [Write About A Star Is Born] Again," I told myself. "She won the Oscar, this movie will finally go away," I told myself. How naive I was.
On Monday, the Oscar-winning "Shallow" ascended to the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, displacing reigning queen Ariana Grande. "Shallow" is now Gaga's first #1 song since "Born This Way" (just writing that makes me feel sick) and is her fifth chart-topper to date, alongside "Just Dance," "Poker Face," and "Bad Romance."
Obviously the Oscars played a huge part in getting "Shallow" to the top spot, but Little Monsters (and their Joanne-stanning cousins, the Little Aunties) have been campaigning mercilessly on social media to raise the track's chart position. That campaign included a fake Starbucks promotion that went viral, which tricked unwitting coffee lovers into posting a selfie of themselves listening to "Shallow" with the hashtag #Shallowbucks in order to get a free drink of their choice.
\u201cStarbucks is celebrating Lady Gaga\u2019s Oscar win with a promotion for a free drink of choice! Simply post a screenshot of yourself listening to \u201cShallow\u201d with the hashtag, #SHALLOWBUCKS for a free drink of choice! \u2615\ufe0f\ud83c\udf1fOffer expires soon so hurry!\u201d— nico \ud83c\udf52 (@nico \ud83c\udf52) 1551410171
And yes, Starbucks enthusiasts hoping to score a free drink took the bait.
\u201cJust got my free drink for streaming Shallow by Lady Gaga!\n\nThough I think I picked up the wrong order... who the hell is Lara?\n\nThanks @starbucks! #ShallowBucks\u201d— Ally Lewinsky (@Ally Lewinsky) 1551458696
\u201c.@Starbucks This is the employee who has been honoring my #Shallowbucks at the location next to Joanne Trattoria! Please promote her!\u201d— Bradley Stern (@Bradley Stern) 1551741241
\u201cThe crowd outside Starbucks waiting for their free drinks after seeing #ShallowBucks\u201d— Anthony \ud83d\udea8 Lady Gaga News (@Anthony \ud83d\udea8 Lady Gaga News) 1551423112
\u201cOMG YALL THIS IS REAL YOU GOTTA TRY IT #SHALLOWBUCKS\u201d— Alejandro (@Alejandro) 1551413558
The scam went viral enough that Starbucks started responding to unsuspecting Allygators, calling the original post "completely false" and claiming that they were "investigating to see who created it."
Gaga stan Nico confirmed to Buzzfeed that he started the scam "but if Starbucks asks I know NOTHING!"
"Well since rumors of 'Shallow' possibly going number one on Billboard started I knew I had to do something to help her out with sales and streams but I didn't know just what to do at first," he said. "Then one day when I was going home from school I passed by a Starbucks and got the idea last minute lol."
The moral of the story? Trolling works.
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