For most people, the Golden Globes are the true start of awards season, the first big gathering of stars that offers a hint of what's to come at next months Academy Awards.
But if you were betting in a Globes pool this year, you may have lost points over some stunning upsets that no one saw coming.
And one of the biggest surprises of all came when A Star Is Born, one of this year's fan favorites, was nearly shut out at the awards show after months of rave reviews by fans and critics.
For context, there were two runaway hit films that garnered a lot of awards buzz this year: A Star Is Born, starring Lady Gaga, and the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.
While fans of both films crossed their fingers, only Rhapsody's audience was satisfied by the end of last night's awards.
Gaga only took to the stage once (aside from when she presented an award alongside her co-star Bradley Cooper) to accept a Best Original Song award for "Shallow," which she co-wrote.
When it was time for the Best Actress - Drama award to be presented, even The Wife star Glenn Close seemed shocked to hear her name called instead instead of Gaga.
If you think you're surprised Lady Gaga didn't win, I'll see your shock and raise you a Glenn Close. #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/Lcizl0J7Io
— shauna (@goldengateblond) January 7, 2019
Before the awards ceremony, Gaga's emotional speech about having "one out of 100 people in a room believe in you" - which the star recited at several press events - was so well-known that the show's hosts even poked fun at it in their opening monologue.
But Gaga would not get to give the speech one more time on stage at the Globes.
Lady Gaga yelling "It's true!" at a one hundred people in a room joke (2019) pic.twitter.com/HL5ZSq8jHG
— Gaga Doing Things (@LGDoingThings) January 7, 2019
Of course, every cloud has a silver lining, and this was Close's first Globes win out of 15 nominations, so you could say she was overdue.
The 71-year-old actress even offered one of the most moving speeches of the night, comparing her character in The Wife to her own mother.
"I'm thinking of my mom, who really sublimated herself to my father her whole life, and in her 80s she said to me, I feel like I haven't accomplished anything," Close said with tears in her eyes.
"And it was so not right, and I feel what I've learned through this whole experience is that, you know women we're nurturers. That's what's expected of us. We have our children, we have our husbands if we're lucky enough and our partners, whoever. But we have to find personal fulfillment, we have to follow our dreams, we have to say I can do that, and I should be allowed to do that."
Star lost out in other categories (it won just one of its five nominations) including for Supporting Actor - where Bradley Cooper lost out to Green Book's Mahershala Ali - and in the highly competitive Best Motion Picture - Drama, as Bohemian Rhapsody came out on top instead.
Of course, the movie's fans revolted online, as they complained that Star had been overlooked.
Anyone who actually thinks that Bohemian Rhapsody was a better film than A Star is Born is wrong.
— Ashley Iaconetti (@ashleyiaco) January 7, 2019
A Star is Born was snubbed in the last category. There's nothing else to be said. Bohemian Rhapsody was a beautiful film, don't get get me wrong, but not Best Picture
— Colton J (@RahRahEnigma) January 7, 2019
Hold up imma let you finish but... A Star Is Born has got to be the best film of 2018 hands down....
— jordyn (@jordyn_salerno) January 7, 2019
Only time will tell if the much-loved musical, and Lady Gaga, will have their time in the spotlight during next month's Oscar awards. But suddenly, this year's competition for the big awards is much more fierce than we expected!
