Best Original Song: Shining a spotlight on the songwriters behind the Oscar-nominated songs
Last week’s 92nd Academy Awards ceremony saw a mix of household names, masters of the art and newcomers nominated in the Best Original Song category. I’ve had a rummage around into the stories and discographies of the songwriters behind the nominated songs.
“(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from ROCKETMAN (WINNER)
Music by Elton John; Lyric by Bernie Taupin
What is there to say that hasn’t already been said about Elton John and Bernie Taupin? In 50 years of writing songs together, they have collaborated on more than 30 albums and produced some of the most memorable songs of all time. Rocket Man, Crocodile Rock, Tiny Dancer, Candle in the Wind, Daniel, I’m Still Standing…the list goes on and on.
I watched Rocketman on the plane from London to Nashville last September. The film does a brilliant job of reframing classic Elton John songs with a new perspective — the title song performed at the bottom of a swimming pool my favourite. I discovered new ideas and meanings in songs we have all heard thousands of times before, and was left more impressed than ever before by the quality of Elton and Bernie’s songwriting. I’m slightly ashamed to say that I didn’t even notice that (I’m Gonna) Love Me Again was a new song until it was nominated for the Oscar. I had assumed it was a classic song I had missed, which I guess goes to show that John and Taupin are undimmed as a creative partnership even after half a century of songwriting.
(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again is Elton John’s second Academy Award, following his 1995 win for Can You Feel The Love Tonight from The Lion King, which earned him a total of three Original Song nominations alongside Tim Rice.
“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” from TOY STORY 4
Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away completes the set for Randy Newman, who has earned an Academy Award nomination for each of the four Toy Story movies, including a best original song Oscar for the song We Belong Together from Toy Story 2. I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away is one of two musical nominations for Newman in 2020. He was also nominated for a different kind of Story altogether — his score for the the Noah Baumbach drama Marriage Story.
Newman has received a massive 22 nominations across his extensive film career, also winning best original song in 2001 for If I didn’t Have You from Monsters, inc — one of nine Pixar movies he has scored since 1995.
Outside of the cinema, Randy has written songs for Gene Pitney and Cilla Black, and his song Mama Told Me Not to Come has been recorded by artists as diverse as Tom Jones, Wilson Pickett and The Jackson Five.
“I’m Standing With You” from BREAKTHROUGH
Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
At this point Diane Warren’s failure to win an Oscar for Best Original Song is something of a running joke. The legendary songwriter has been nominated 11 times without ever taking home the award, starting with 1988’s Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now from the movie Mannequin. Somehow writing enough great songs to be nominated 11 times seems almost more impressive than winning an Academy Award.
At last year’s AIMP Indie Music Publishing Summit, Diane gave the keynote. As she took the stage, a video montage of some of her best-known songs played in the background. The montage contained so many hit songs it felt like it would go on forever — Un-break My Heart, Because You Loved Me, Don’t Turn Around, How Do I Live, I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing, If I Could Turn Back Time, Til It Happens To You…. Working alone almost exclusively, Warren has stacked up nine no.1s and 32 top ten hits. Which should we bet on happening first — a full complement of 20 nominations, or a first Best Original Song Oscar?
“Into The Unknown” from FROZEN II
Music and Lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
If like me you have young children, you would already be more than familiar with this wife and husband team’s Oscar-winning song Let It Go from the first Frozen movie. Let It Go accompanied every car journey for two years in our family. I have even performed it in a Karaoke duet on a cross channel ferry with my eldest daughter.
Into The Unknown repeats the trick by being almost even more addictive than Let It Go. Plus, the soundtrack producers obviously had the family car listening experience in mind when they recruited Panic! At The Disco, Weezer and Kacey Musgraves for parent-friendly versions of the best songs from the film.
Wondering what these two got up to in the six years between Frozen movies? There’s just the small matter of Coco, which won Anderson-Lopez and Lopez their second Academy Award for the song Remember Me.
“Stand Up” from HARRIET
Music and Lyric by Joshuah Brian Campbell and Cynthia Erivo
Joshuah Brian Campbell, aged just 25 at the time of nomination, came to the attention of Harriet composer Terence Blanchard through his song Sing Out, March On. After Campbell performed Sing Out, March On in honour of US Congressman John Lewis at Harvard’s 2018 commencement ceremony, the video immediately went viral as people connected with its protest message.
Stand Up is the result of a unique partnership with actor and songwriter Cynthia Erivo, who is also the star of Harriet and performs the song during the end credits. The song was adapted and honed from the original demo to suit Erivo’s voice and character, leading to Erivo’s powerful performance of the song in the movie. This isn’t the first time Erivo has combined music and acting. In 2016 she won Tony, Grammy and Emmy awards for her portrayal of Celie in the Broadway musical The Colour Purple.
