"Fight for You" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by H.E.R. | ||||
from the album Judas and the Black Messiah: The Inspired Album | ||||
Released | February 4, 2021 | |||
Length | 4:30 | |||
Label | RCA | |||
Composer(s) | ||||
Lyricist(s) |
| |||
Producer(s) |
| |||
H.E.R. singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Fight for You" on YouTube |
"Fight for You" is a song by H.E.R. written for the 2021 film Judas and the Black Messiah . H.E.R. co-wrote it with Tiara Thomas and co-composed and co-produced it with D'Mile. RCA Records released it as a digital single on February 4, 2021.
The song received multiple film award-related nominations, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Song, and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 93rd ceremony. It also received three nominations at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year, winning for Best Traditional R&B Performance. The song reached the number 43 on Flanders' Ultratip chart.
H.E.R. co-wrote "Fight for You" with Tiara Thomas, [1] and co-composed [1] and co-produced it with D'Mile. [2] The song was written for the 2020 film Judas and the Black Messiah , a biographical film about how William O'Neal betrayed Fred Hampton, the chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party in the late 1960s. [3] Film director Shaka King told H.E.R. he wanted to listen to "something contemporary with echoes of 1968". After he heard elements inspired by Curtis Mayfield, he approved the song. [4] H.E.R. said that "[t]here's not much that separates that time and that story from what's going on right now with the Black Lives Matter movement in the Black community". [5] The lyrics discuss racism, police brutality and equality. [6] [7]
Musically, music critics said "Fight for You" was influenced by funk-soul, [8] 1960s rhythm and blues, [9] and 1960s-and-1970s soul music. [10] It has an uptempo sound and starts with "aggressive" drums. [5]
"Fight for You" was released as the lead single from Judas and the Black Messiah: The Inspired Album [11] on February 4, 2021. [2] [12] H.E.R. performed the song live at The Late Show With Stephen Colbert in February 2021 [8] and a pre-recorded performance was broadcast at the 93rd Academy Awards pre-show, Oscars: Into the Spotlight. [10] [13]
Kyle Eustice said H.E.R. conveys singer Marvin Gaye on "Fight for You". [6] Andy Kellman commented that the singer shadows "You're the Man" by Gaye. [14]
At the 93rd Academy Awards, "Fight for You" won the Best Original Song award, which was called a surprise as "Io sì (Seen)", "Husavik" and "Speak Now" were seen as the favorites. [15] [16]
Year | Organization | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2020/21 | Academy Awards | Best Original Song | Won | [17] |
2020 | Black Reel Awards | Outstanding Original Song | Nominated | [18] |
2020 | Critics' Choice Awards | Best Song | Nominated | [19] |
2020/21 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Original Song | Nominated | [20] |
2022 | Grammy Awards | Song of the Year | Nominated | [21] |
Best Traditional R&B Performance | Won | |||
Best Song Written for Visual Media | Nominated | |||
2020 | Hollywood Music in Media Awards | Best Original Song in a Feature Film | Nominated | [22] |
2021 | MTV Europe Music Awards | Video for Good | Nominated | [23] |
Chart (2021) | Peak position |
---|---|
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders) [24] | 43 |
US R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Songs ( Billboard ) [25] | 23 |
Daniel Kaluuya is an English actor. Prominent both on screen and stage, he has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, and a Golden Globe Award. In 2021, he was named among the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine.
Dernst "D'Mile" Emile II is an American record producer and songwriter from Brooklyn, New York City. He received his first production credits on Rihanna's 2005 album Music of the Sun and Mary J. Blige's The Breakthrough in the same year. Afterward, he expanded his production work as a protégé of Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins. At a young age, he was to Sean and Colin Muhammad's Medinah Entertainment, then decades later added management by Natalie Prospere.
Örlygur Hnefill Örlygsson, known professionally as Orly Orlyson, is an Icelandic filmmaker, entrepreneur, hotelier, founder of The Exploration Museum and former President of the Húsavík town council.
LaKeith Lee Stanfield is an American actor and musician. He made his feature film debut in Short Term 12 (2013), for which he was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. He received further recognition for his roles in the films Get Out (2017), Sorry to Bother You (2018), Uncut Gems (2019), Knives Out (2019), and Judas and the Black Messiah (2021), the lattermost of which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Dominique Fishback is an American actress. She played Billie Rowan on Show Me a Hero, Darlene on The Deuce, and Deborah Johnson in Judas and the Black Messiah, the latter of which earned nominations for a Critics' Choice Movie Award, and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. In 2023, she began starring in the Amazon Prime Video psychological horror series Swarm; her performance in the series has received universal praise, earning her a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards.
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is a 2020 American drama film directed by George C. Wolfe and written by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, based on the 1982 play of the same name by August Wilson. The film stars Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, Glynn Turman, Colman Domingo, and Michael Potts. Inspired by the career of Ma Rainey, an influential blues singer and the title character, the film dramatizes a turbulent recording session in 1920s Chicago.
Judas and the Black Messiah is a 2021 American biographical crime drama film directed and produced by Shaka King, who wrote the screenplay with Will Berson, based on a story by the pair and Kenny and Keith Lucas. The film is about the betrayal of Fred Hampton, chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party in the late-1960s Chicago, by William O'Neal, an FBI informant. Jesse Plemons, Dominique Fishback, Ashton Sanders, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Lil Rel Howery, Algee Smith, Dominique Thorne, and Martin Sheen also star.
Kemp Powers is an American playwright, screenwriter, and director. He is best known for his play One Night in Miami and the 2020 film adaptation of the same name, as well as for co-directing the animated films Soul (2020) and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023). His screenplay for One Night in Miami... earned him a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination at the 93rd Academy Awards, while his work on Soul made him the first African-American to co-direct a Disney animated feature.
The 93rd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released from January 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021, at Union Station in Los Angeles. The ceremony was held on April 25, 2021, rather than its usual late-February date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the ceremony, the AMPAS presented Academy Awards in 23 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Jesse Collins, Stacey Sher, and Steven Soderbergh, and was directed by Glenn Weiss. For the third consecutive year, the ceremony had no official host. In related events, the Academy Scientific and Technical Awards were presented by host Nia DaCosta on February 13, 2021, in a virtual ceremony.
Canvas is an American animated short film written and directed by Frank E. Abney III. It was released on December 11, 2020 on Netflix.
Soul: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the 2020 Disney-Pixar film Soul. The soundtrack is a compilation of all 23 score pieces by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross from the Soul: Original Motion Picture Score vinyl album as well as 16 original songs by Jon Batiste from the Music from and Inspired by Soul vinyl album. All three albums were released through Walt Disney Records on December 18, 2020.
Will Berson is an American screenwriter living in Los Angeles, California. He wrote the screenplay and story of Judas and the Black Messiah with Shaka King, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 2021.
"Be Alive" is a song by American singer and songwriter Beyoncé. It was written and produced by Beyoncé and DIXSON for the 2021 biographical drama film King Richard. It was released on November 12, 2021, through Parkwood Entertainment.
Mia Neal is an American hair stylist. In 2021 she, Jamika Wilson, and Sergio López-Rivera won an Academy Award in the category Best Makeup and Hairstyling for the film Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. This made Mia and Jamika the first black women to win an Academy Award in the category Best Makeup and Hairstyling.
Judas and the Black Messiah is the soundtrack to the identically named 2021 biographical crime-drama film. Two soundtracks — Judas and the Black Messiah , consisting of film score composed by Mark Isham and Craig Harris, and Judas and the Black Messiah: The Inspired Album, consisting of incorporated film songs, were released by WaterTower Music and RCA Records on February 12, 2021, the same day as the film's theatrical and premium video-on-demand release on HBO Max. The soundtrack and score received positive critical acclaim. The original song "Fight for You", which was featured in the film score album, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 93rd Academy Awards.
One Night in Miami... is the soundtrack album to the 2020 film One Night in Miami... directed by Regina King. The album featured 22 songs, which are popular 1960s singles from artists including Sam Cooke, Ray Charlies, Jackie Wilson and several others, and performed some by the film's cast. It also features an original song "Speak Now" by Leslie Odom Jr. and Sam Ashworth, and few cues from the score composed by Terence Blanchard.
Charlese Antoinette Jones is an American costume designer for film and television. She is best known for her work on Raising Dion, Astronomy Club: The Sketch Show and Judas and the Black Messiah.
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey is the soundtrack album to the 2020 film Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, released by Atlantic Records and Maisie Music Publishing on November 13, 2020. The album features original music with contribution from John Legend, Philip Lawrence, Davy Nathan and Michael Diskint, and songs performed by the cast members, Forest Whitaker, Keegan-Michael Key, Anika Noni Rose, Ricky Martin, Justin Cornwell and Madalen Mills. The film score is written and composed by John Debney, which was released into a separate album, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey by Lakeshore Records on December 4, 2020.