🤐 SPOILER ALERT 🤐

Ashley Park was feeling sad. It was a beautiful summer day, but she was about to film the Emily in Paris musical number she knew would likely bring fans to tears: Season 3’s cover of “Shallow,” sung by her character, chanteuse Mindy, and Mindy’s love interest, Benoît (Kevin Dias). “That is a breakup number with a character and a couple that we really became endeared to,” Park tells Netflix. 

Now, months later, fans can finally see the gutting emotions on display in Episode 5. Mindy and Benoît come to “Shallow” — initially from Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s 2018 tragedy A Star Is Born — at a crossroads in their relationship. Benoît is insecure after meeting Nicolas, Mindy’s wildly wealthy (and handsome) high school chum. Although Benoît loves Mindy, a heiress foregoing her family’s billion-dollar zipper fortune, he’ll never understand her world like Nicolas does. Finally, toward the end of Episode 5, Mindy and Benoît question out loud whether they really have a future together. 

Cue the “Shallow” duet — translated into French, despite the fact that French very much isn’t Park’s first language. She had about 12 hours to learn the new version before recording it for Emily in Paris — but you’d never know it. Creator Darren Star calls Park’s performance a “tour de force” turn, and explains it was the perfect choice for the moment because it “would just illustrate so much what Mindy emotionally was going through with Benoît.” 

As for Park, who also played the piano during her performance, she was initially nervous about the song, but now it’s “the thing she’s most excited about” in Season 3. 

“This song, it’s a breakup song… I think the lyrics are so perfect for what’s happening,” Park says. “You really have to understand the emotion of the song. That means you have to understand the words, and the words need to feel good in your mouth, from your soul and everything.” 

The key to locking in that emotion for Park, and the rest of the Emily in Paris team, is asking, “How are we making it our own?” In the case of “Shallow,” this was done by giving the instantly recognizable Oscar-winning track some French flair. 

“That’s really symbolic for thinking something is one way and being familiar with it,” Park explains. 

Mindy Performs Dua Lipa's ‘Don’t Start Now' | ‘Emily In Paris’ S3E3Ashley Park rocks this Dula Peep cover.

With Mindy’s cover of Dua Lipa hit “Don’t Start Now,” which can be found in Episode 3, Park and her dance collaborators added Bob Fosse-inspired choreography. 

“We wanted to pay homage to the cabaret world,” Park says, nodding toward Mindy’s new performance home at the fictional Parisian jazz club La Trompette Bleue. As Star explains, “The music is always there to move the story forward to underline the themes of the episodes.” 

Speaking of all the music in Emily in Paris, peek below for a full list of every song Mindy belts in Season 3. 

Mindy’s complete season 3 song list  

1. Episode 1: “J’ai Deux Amours” by Josephine Baker
2. Episode 2: “Smile” by Nat King Cole 
3. Episode 3: “Don’t Start Now” by Dua Lipa 
4. Episode 5: “Mon Soleil (Remix),” an Emily in Paris original 
5. Episode 5: “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper