Over a crowded Los Angeles highway (“Another Day of Sun”), Mia (Emma Stone), an on-studio barista and aspiring presenter, is distracted by the woman preparation for an upcoming casting, which leads to a moment regarding road rage between the woman and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), a jazz pianist. The woman audition proves to be one more thing failure. At the same time, Sebastian has problems paying his costs, leading to an argument with his sibling, Laura (Rosemarie DeWitt) before you go to his next event at a restaurant. That night, Mia’s three roommates, in an attempt to brighten her up, invite the woman to a lavish party inside the Hollywood Hills (“Someone inside the Crowd”). When Mia’s automobile is towed, she is pressured to walk back to the woman apartment.
Sebastian is advised by the restaurant’s owner, Costs (J. K. Simmons), against playing any jazz. While enjoying simple variations of Christmas time songs, he slips in to a passionate improvisation, which Mia overhears as she taking walks past the restaurant (“Mia and also Sebastian’s Theme”). Moved simply by his talent, she makes its way into to watch him play, yet Sebastian is promptly let go for his disobedience. Since he walks out, Mia attempts to compliment his or her playing, but he coolly passes her in his aggravation.
Months later, Mia is in another party and sees Sebastian again, now enjoying as the keyboardist for a nineteen-eighties pop cover band. The lady playfully irks him simply by requesting the band to experience “I Ran (So Significantly Away)” by A Flock regarding Seagulls. After the gig, the 2 walk together to find their particular cars. They lament with regards to each other’s company, inspite of the clear chemistry between them (“A Lovely Night”).
Sebastian will take her to a jazz pub, explaining his intense adore for jazz and his goals of running his own pub, as well as reinforcing her enthusiasm as an actress. They loosen up to each other (“City of Stars“). Sebastian asks her into a screening of Rebel With out a Cause at a theater. Whilst getting ready for her date together with Sebastian, Greg (Finn Wittrock), a man she has been discovering, shows up for a scheduled time. Mia reluctantly goes on the particular double date with Greg and his brother. She can feel out of place on the time and abruptly leaves to be able to rush to the theater, handling to find Sebastian just as the particular film starts. They begin to relocate for a kiss but are cut off when the film fails to enjoy. Mia and Sebastian finish off their date at the Griffith Observatory and dance (“Planetarium”).
‘City of Stars’
Mia, after several a lot more failed auditions, decides to publish a personal single-actress play, Too long, Boulder City, at Sebastian’s suggestion. Sebastian becomes a typical performer at the jazz club and the two move in collectively. Sebastian is reunited using a high school classmate, Keith (John Legend), who offers the dog a chance to be the keyboardist within the jazz band The Messengers, which offers a steady source of income. Sebastian accepts but is dismayed when he discovers the band’s more pop-oriented sound. Mia attends one of their live shows but is left outstanding, knowing Sebastian would never appreciate playing that type of audio (“Start a Fire”). Through the band’s first tour, Mia confronts Sebastian about this. He or she admits that he thought it was just what she wanted of the dog. He then criticizes her regarding liking him only when having been unsuccessful. Insulted, Mia results in.
On opening night of Mia’s play, Sebastian fails to glance due to a photo shoot with the group that he had forgotten concerning. Only a handful of people show up at the show and Mia overhears their negative feedback about it from backstage. Emaciated and hurt, Mia results in Los Angeles to move back in ready parents in Boulder Metropolis, Nevada. Sebastian receives any call from a casting overseer who attended Mia’s enjoy. The casting director expands an invite for Mia to attend a film audition these morning. Sebastian drives to be able to Boulder City and persuades Mia to return to Hollywood for that audition. Unlike previous tryouts Mia experienced, she is basically asked to tell a story on her behalf audition. She begins to discuss, and then sing, about the woman vivacious aunt who occupied Paris, where the film will be set, and who motivated her to pursue behaving (“Audition [The Fools Who Dream]”). The lady and Sebastian go to Griffith Observatory where, confident the audition was a success, he or she says she must spend herself wholeheartedly to the possibility. Acknowledging the incompatibility of these dreams, the two promise they may love each other forever.
Several years later, Mia is actually a famous actress but hitched to another man (Tom Everett Scott) with whom she’s a daughter. One night time, her husband notices any jazz bar after they head out for dinner. They enter, and also Mia, noticing the “Seb’s” logo she had developed, realizes it is Sebastian’s pub. Sebastian, having left The particular Messengers, recognizes Mia inside the crowd. He begins to enjoy “Mia & Sebastian’s Theme” and as he plays, Mia imagines a completely different existence that she could have guided with Sebastian following their particular encounter at Bill’s cafe (“Epilogue”), one where “everything went right. ” The particular song ends and Mia leaves with her husband. Prior to walking out, Mia stock shares with Sebastian one previous knowing look and laugh, happy for the dreams they may have achieved.