Lady Gaga [1] is officially halfway to earning an EGOT [2] thanks to Sunday night's Oscars. The singer took home the gold [3] for best original song during the ceremony, gaining recognition for her incredible work on "Shallow" alongside Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, and Andrew Wyatt. And that was just the tip of the iceberg for Gaga's sensational night: she also pulled off an incredible performance [4] with Bradley Cooper [5] and gave a truly inspirational speech [6] when she took the stage to accept her award. The love, light, and delirious happiness continued when the group headed backstage. But perhaps the most striking moment of the press room interview was when Ronson described the moment they wrote the award-winning song in question.

Ronson told the press that they'd had plenty of Jameson that day, and they were just puttering around and trying to figure out a new song. Gaga was on the piano, naturally, and she was trying out different chords, rhythms, and melodies. Ronson said a hush came over the room, and Gaga sang the first line: "Tell me something, girl, are you happy in this modern world?" Ronson said, "All of my hairs stood on end . . . it felt like someone hugged my soul." It's that kind of magic, stitched into the fabric of the song, that made it powerful enough to win an Oscar.

Gaga kind of alluded to that magic earlier in the press room interview, while she was sending a message to all her LGBTQ+ fans. She said that true bravery is finding the courage to be yourself, and that she hopes her LGBTQ+ fans are able to do so and find their own joy. "That's actually what Bradley said to me yesterday, right before we did our last rehearsal for this performance of 'Shallow,'" she continued. "He said, 'Let's just draw a little bit of joy.' And I said, 'OK.' And it turns our joy did a lot to me."

As a final note of inspiration, she elaborated a bit on something she said during her acceptance speech: that it had been a hard road, and she had worked really f*cking hard to get here. (Even Jennifer Hudson was moved [7].) "The truth is, people see what they see on the outside . . . I was so determined to live my dreams, and yet there was so much in the way. There were so many things I did not anticipate — that broke me, that tortured me, that traumatised me — and I think sometimes . . . people think it comes easy to us." She continued: "Every single person on this stage has been through so much. We are friends, we have worked on ourselves in life, we have tried to get through the torment of this industry and being artists. And the truth is that this is very hard work, and it is not the faint of heart. But I would not want to imply that anyone in the world is faint of heart."

So, there you have it. Gaga doesn't think you're faint of heart. You have full permission to pursue your dreams.