NEWS
Encanto
DISNEYThe zesty “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” is the breakout hit from Encanto, but it’s not the song from the film that members of the music branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences will be considering when they vote to determine this year’s nominees for best original song.
Instead, they’ll evaluate “Dos Oruguitas,” a Spanish-language acoustic ballad that had special meaning for Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote both music and lyrics for all of the songs in the film. It’s the first song he wrote entirely in Spanish.
“I really had to go out of my comfort zone,” Miranda told The Los Angeles Times. “My task was to write a Colombian folk song that feels like it’s always existed. … It was important to me that I write it in Spanish, rather than write it in English and translate it, because you can always feel translation. … I was really proud of it. I felt like I pulled it from a deeper place within myself.”
Both songs are listed on the Billboard Hot 100, but “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” is way ahead. The track, credited to Carolina Gaitan, Mauro Castillo, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, Diane Guerrero, Stephanie Beatriz & Encanto Cast, vaults from No. 50 to No. 5 in its second week. “Dos Oruguitas,” credited to Sebastian Yatra, debuts at No. 83.
Yet “Dos Oruguitas” (Spanish for “Two Caterpillars”) is the only Encanto song that Miranda and the team at Walt Disney Animation Studios submitted for Oscar consideration. It made the shortlist of 15 songs that are vying for a nomination. The five finalists will be announced on Feb. 8.
This isn’t the first time that the biggest hit from a film wasn’t the one that was submitted for Oscar consideration. Here are other times something like this happened.
Grease, 1978: Olivia Newton-John’s “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” which received an Oscar nomination, was a big hit, peaking at No. 3 on the Hot 100, but there were two bigger hits from the soundtrack. Newton-John and John Travolta’s “You’re the One That I Want” and Frankie Valli’s “Grease” both reached No. 1. John Farrar wrote both “Hopelessly” and “You’re the One That I Want.” Barry Gibb wrote “Grease.” This was the second year in a row that Gibb was passed over for an Oscar nod. None of the Bee Gees’ songs from Saturday Night Fever were nominated for the 1977 award. Newton-John performed her spotlight ballad on the Oscar telecast in April 1979 — and slayed! (“Hopelessly” lost to the disco classic “Last Dance.” Donna Summer’s performance of that song on the Oscar telecast was also stellar.)
Mary Poppins, 1964: “Chim Chim Cheree” won the Oscar, but it wasn’t the biggest hit from the soundtrack. The New Christy Minstrels’ cover version of “Chim Chim” reached No. 81 following their performance of the song on the Oscar telecast in April 1965, but Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke‘s original version of the tongue-twister “Super-cali-fragil-istic-expi-ali-docious” climbed 15 points higher, peaking at No. 66. Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman wrote the entire song score. Later that year, Andrews invited The New Christy Minstrels to perform the song with her on her NBC special The Julie Andrews Show, an Emmy nominee for outstanding variety special.
In addition, there are many cases where the biggest hit from a film wasn’t eligible for an Oscar because it wasn’t written for the film. Here’s a sampling:
Country Strong, 2010: Gwyneth Paltrow’s title song from this country-themed film reached No. 81 on the Hot 100. Sara Evans’ “A Little Bit Stronger” did even better, hitting No. 34. But neither of those songs was written for the film. One that was, “Coming Home” (also performed by Paltrow), was nominated. Paltrow performed it on the Oscar telecast, but it lost to Randy Newman’s “We Belong Together” from Toy Story 3.
The Bodyguard, 1992: Dolly Parton wrote and recorded “I Will Always Love You” in 1974, 18 years before Whitney Houston’s steel-belted version became a blockbuster hit in The Bodyguard. Two other songs from that film, “I Have Nothing” and “Run to You,” received Oscar nominations, but both lost to “A Whole New World” from Aladdin. Parton had been nominated for best original song for 1980’s “Nine to Five” and would be nominated again for 2005’s “Travelin’ Thru,” but this is the one that would almost certainly have won if it had been eligible.
The Rose, 1979: Amanda McBroom’s “The Rose,” a No. 3 smash for Bette Midler, wasn’t eligible because McBroom didn’t write it for the film. She had written it a year or two earlier in response to her manager’s suggestion that she write “some Bob Seger-type tunes.” Midler was the first artist to record the song, but the Academy are sticklers on this point. As a result, Midler didn’t get a chance to perform it on the Oscar telecast, though she was a best actress nominee for her performance in the film. McBroom did, however, win a Golden Globe for the song. Their rules are a little looser.
NEWS
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.
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.
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.”
‘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’
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’.
