BENGALURU: This year’s nominees in the category of Best Original Song are a mixed offering to say the least. From loopy animated tunes to modern gospel-style themes, the songs are as diverse as the films they belong to.
Glen Campbell’s I’m Not Gonna Miss You is the much touted favourite which has already taken home the Grammy for best country song. A heart-wrenching song that blows you away with its simple beauty, Campbell’s song is a goodbye as well as an exposition of the deadly Alzheimer’s disease that is gradually eating away the 78-year-old’s mind.
Featured in the documentary, Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me, this song was the last one written by Campbell with lyrics which tug at your heart and pay homage to the two great loves of the legendary country singer’s life — music and his wife of the last 32 years. The lyrics — “I’m still here, but yet I’m gone/ I don’t play guitar or sing my songs/ They never defined who I am/ The man that loves you ‘til the end/ You’re the last person I will love/ You’re the last face I will recall/ And best of all, I’m not gonna miss you” will be remembered even as the singer himself loses the last bits of his own memory. Also nominated is John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn’s anthemic and rousing Glory from the film Selma which is an interplay of gospel with rap creating a very modern song for a really important film of our times, reminding us of the struggles and achievements of the recent past against discrimination. Then there is the feel-good Everything is Awesome with music and lyrics by Shawn Patterson that follows the crazy loopy animated patterns of the The Lego Movie and has an incredibly and unexplainable ability to stick right in your head like a persistent ear worm.
Written and composed by Diane Warren and performed by Rita Ora, Grateful with its powerful vocals and sweeping balladic tones is a perfect fit with its film, Beyond the Lights which is also about the struggles of a singer and her search to find her voice and ultimately herself. Lastly, there is Lost Stars with music and lyrics by Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois which is a compelling rendition by the uber talented Adam Levine. Well, no matter who wins, these songs are a worthy addition to your playlist, providing a song for different moods.