Finneas and Billie Eilish stand next to James Bonds Aston Martin car at the World Premiere of "No Time To Die" at the Royal Albert Hall on September 28, 2021 in London, England.

Ian Gavan for EON Productions/MGM Studios/Universal Pictures
Six of the last 10 Globe winners for best original song went on to win the Oscar. For scores, the stat is seven of the last 10.

No Time to Die” from the film of the same name became the third song from a James Bond film to win the Golden Globe for best original song on Sunday (Jan. 9), putting it one step closer to an Oscar nomination and perhaps win. Billie Eilish co-wrote the song with her brother and chief collaborator, Finneas O’Connell, for the long-delayed, but ultimately successful, MGM/United Artists Releasing film.

Adele’s “Skyfall” and Sam Smith’s “Writing’s on the Wall” were the first two Bond songs to win Golden Globes. They went on to become the first two Bond songs to win Oscars.

Hans Zimmer’s Dune (Warner Bros.) won the Globe for best original score.  It’s Zimmer’s third win in the category, following The Lion King (1994) and Gladiator (2000). He went on to win the Oscar for The Lion King, though his Gladiator score lost the Oscar to Tan Dun’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

The Globes are normally one of the top-rated (and most entertaining) award shows, but NBC declined to air the show this year in reaction to allegations of financial and ethical lapses and a problems with diversity among its members (including not one Black member), first reported a year ago in The Los Angeles Times. The organization has since overhauled its bylaws and taken steps to diversify its membership, but many power brokers in the entertainment industry are boycotting the awards until they are satisfied that the changes are real and permanent.

This year’s Golden Globes were presented at a private event without any celebrities or nominees present, and without a livestream. They were announced with little fanfare on the the organization’s website and social media. So this year’s Golden Globe Awards don’t mean much – except as a possible predictor of how the Oscars may go. The Globes have been a fairly reliable predictor of future Oscar glory.

Six of the last 10 Globe winners for best original song went on to win the Oscar – “Skyfall” from the film of the same name, “Glory” from Selma, “Writing’s on the Wall” from Spectre, “City of Stars” from La La Land, “Shallow from A Star Is Born and “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from Rocketman.

Seven of the last 10 Globe winners for best original score went on to win the Oscar – The Artist, Life of Pi, The Hateful Eight, La La Land, The Shape of Water, Joker and Soul.

“No Time to Die” appears to be the front-runner to win the Oscar for best original song. It won a Grammy in March 2021 for best song written for visual media and an award for song – feature film from the Hollywood Music in Media Awards on Nov. 17.

Dune was nominated for original score — feature film at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards, but lost to Nicholas Britell‘s score for Don’t Look Up, which was passed over in the Globe nods.

Zimmer is one of six composers to win three or more Globes for best original score. Maurice Jarre, Dimitri Tiomkin and John Williams lead with four wins each. Alan Menken and Ennio Morricone also won three times.

Oscar nominations will be announced on Feb. 8. The awards will be revealed on March 27.

The other nominees for the Globe for best original song were “Be Alive” from King Richard (Warner Bros.) — Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Dixson;  “Dos Orugitas” from Encanto (Walt Disney Pictures) — Lin-Manuel Miranda; “Down to Joy” from Belfast (Focus Features) — Van Morrison and “Here I Am (Singing My Way Home)” from Respect (MGM/United Artists Releasing) — Jamie Alexander Hartman, Jennifer Hudson, Carole King.

The other nominees for the Globe for best original score were The French Dispatch (Searchlight Pictures) — Alexandre Desplat, Encanto (Walt Disney Pictures) — Germaine Franco, The Power of the Dog (Netflix) — Jonny Greenwood, and Parallel Mothers (Sony Pictures Classic) — Alberto Iglesias.

In related categories, Steven Spielberg’s new version of West Side Story won best motion picture, musical or comedy. In addition, Rachel Zegler won best actress in a motion picture musical or comedy for her playing Maria in that film, which was her motion picture debut. Ariana Debose won best supporting actress in a motion picture for playing Anita. Rita Moreno won a Globe and an Oscar for playing that role in the original 1961 film classic.

Encanto won best animated motion picture. The soundtrack zooms from No. 7 to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 this week. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote all the songs on the album.

Andrew Garfield won best performance by an actor in a motion picture musical or comedy for tick…tick…BOOM!, in which he plays Rent creator Jonathan Larson.

Harry Styles paid tribute to the late David Hockney and reflected on his time in One Direction last night (June 12), as he kicked off his record-breaking residency at Wembley Stadium.

Hockney – whose painting of Styles was displayed at the National Portrait Gallery in 2023 – died on June 11, aged 88, and the musician honoured him during his set by sharing a quote from the painter on the big screens.

“What an artist is trying to do for people is bring them closer to something, because of course art is about sharing,” the quote read. “You wouldn’t be an artist unless you wanted to share an experience, a thought.”

Styles’ gig last night marked the first of 12 gigs at Wembley, which will see the star break the record for the most shows at the venue in a single tour. Coldplay previously held the record, delivering 10 gigs at the stadium last year as part of their Music Of The Spheres tour.

Harry Styles
Harry Styles’ David Hockney tribute. Credit: Rhian Daly

The London residency follows the Together, Together tour beginning in Amsterdam in May, and will be followed by stops in São Paulo, Mexico City, New York, Melbourne and Sydney. He will be supported by a different artist in each city, joined by Shania Twain in London, who delivered a set of hits and new tracks from her upcoming album, ‘Little Miss Twain’.

As the sounds of Simon And Garfunkel’s ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ played over the stadium PA, Styles made his way to the stage, kicking off his set with ‘Are You Listening Yet?’, from his latest album, ‘Kiss All The Time. Disco Occasionally’. Between renditions of ‘Golden’ and ‘Adore You’, he addressed the crowd for the first time, saying: “Our job tonight is to entertain you. Your job is to have as much fun as you possibly can.

“If you want to sing, if you want to dance, please feel free. Please feel free to be whoever it is you’ve always wanted to be tonight. We’ve got each other’s backs.”

Throughout the night, Styles subtly reworked some of the songs on the setlist. He dedicated ‘Taste Back’ “to all the ravers in the house”, as a snippet of Underworld’s ‘Born Slippy’ was interpolated into the song, while a brief burst of Talking Heads’ ‘This Must Be The Place’ was introduced to ‘Treat People With Kindness’. During ‘Dance No More’, the pop star’s band played part of the groove from Happy Mondays’ ‘Step On’, while Styles sang a snatch of Gorillaz’s ‘Clint Eastwood’.

There were also nods to Styles’ days in One Direction early in the set. As the musician left the stage after ‘Fine Line’, the string section on stage played a medley featuring clips of the group’s hits ‘Night Changes’ and ‘History’, plus Styles’ own track ‘Falling’. After ‘Keep Driving’, he took the time to reflect on Wembley’s connections to his and the boyband’s journeys.

“Just outside of this building, just next door, is Wembley Arena, and 16 years ago, my sister brought me to London for the very first time for my X Factor audition,” he said. “So driving here today, and any time I come through Wembley, means so much to me, ‘cause right in that building next door, I was put into a band. We were called One Direction.

“Driving here today, I drove the same way I used to come when I went to that building and she brought me here. My sister is here tonight – I want to say thank you to Gemma. We went to the Natural History Museum, we went to Big Ben, we saw everything! So it means a lot for me to be in here tonight. Thank you so much for allowing me to do these shows. It means so much. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

 

The Together, Together setlist features a different surprise song each night at the start of the encore. Last night, Styles treated the Wembley audience to ‘Little Freak’, taken from ‘Harry’s House’, for the first time since 2023. After the song, he spoke to the audience for the final time, saying: “I don’t know if you’ve been listening to me for a week, or a month, or a year, or five years, or 10 years, or 16 years, or whatever it is, but you have changed my life over and over again. Thank you so much for being here and allowing us to do these shows. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

“Finally, 16 years ago, my mother signed me up for the X Factor without my knowledge. I wouldn’t be here today if she hadn’t done that. She’s here today – thank you so much. You’ve changed my life, all of you.” Referencing a lyric in ‘Dance No More’, he added: “Remember – respect your mother.”

Harry Styles Wembley Stadium night one setlist was:

‘Are You Listening Yet?’
‘Golden’
‘Adore You’
‘Watermelon Sugar’
‘Music From A Sushi Restaurant’
‘Taste Back’
‘Coming Up Roses’
‘Fine Line’
‘Italian Girls’
‘American Girls’
‘Keep Driving’
‘Ready, Steady, Go!’
‘Dance No More’
‘Treat People With Kindness’
‘Pop’
‘Season 2 Weight Loss’
‘Carla’s Song’
‘Aperture’
‘Little Freak’
‘Sign Of The Times’
‘As It Was’

Harry Styles
Harry Styles credit: Anthony Pham

The Together, Together, London residency continues at Wembley Stadium tonight, with further dates on June 17, 19, 20, 23, 26, 27, 29 and July 1, 3, and 4. Visit here for any remaining UK tickets and check out doors and stage times here.

The gigs will see Styles donate £1 from every ticket sold to LIVE’s levy to help protect UK grassroots music venues and support emerging talent, and before Styles’ headline performance, the big screens at the venue encouraged fans to support Music Venues Trust.

The tour is in support of the star’s latest album, ‘Kiss All The Time. Disco Occasionally’, which was released in March. In a four-star review, NME described it as “an album that you’ll really want to spend a lot of time with, letting all its layers envelope you”. It added: “It’s the most exploratory album of his career so far, trying out new things and steering his ship in new directions.”

Meanwhile, Styles has also curated this year’s Meltdown Festival at the Southbank Centre. The line-up chosen by the star includes Stephen Fretwell, Nilüfer Yanya, Orlando Weeks, Bar Italia, Dev Hynes, Jon Hopkins, Getdown Services, LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy, Soulwax and more, as well as an intimate gig from Styles himself.

The festival kicked off earlier this week (June 11) with a performance from Los Angeles’ Warpaint, whose show was their first in nearly two years. During the gig, they shared fan favourites like ‘Love Is To Die, ‘Billie Holiday’ and ‘Disco//Very’, plus a cover of Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’.

CONTINUE READING