Big Eyes (song)

Last updated
"Big Eyes"
Song by Lana Del Rey
from the album Big Eyes: Music from the Original Motion Picture
ReleasedDecember 23, 2014
Length4:41
Label Interscope
Songwriter(s)
  • Lana Del Rey
  • Dan Heath
Producer(s) Dan Heath
Audio
"Big Eyes" on YouTube

"Big Eyes" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey. It was written by Del Rey and producer Dan Heath and served as the title track to Tim Burton's film Big Eyes . It was officially released on December 23, 2014 via digital download by Interscope Records as part of the movie's soundtrack album. The song's lyrics make reference to the lead character's emotions as she discovers her paintings being sold in a supermarket in the middle of the film.

Contents

The song was nominated for Best Original Song at the 72nd Golden Globe Awards. [1] On December 13, the song was shortlisted as one of 79 potential nominees for the Academy Awards for Best Original Song, but failed to earn a nomination. [2]

Background and composition

Del Rey wrote and performed two songs for Big Eyes. The title track is heard during the film, while "I Can Fly" plays over the end credits. [3] [4] According to Larry Karaszewski, one of the film's producers, "Tim showed her the film and she fell in love with it. Women in particular seem to get the movie, and Lana really got the movie. The whole thing is about a woman who can't find her voice. Lana's song expresses what Margaret is feeling so perfectly, it's like a soliloquy of her inner thoughts." [5] [6]

Consequence of Sound said both "Big Eyes" and "I Can Fly" "begin life as minimalist piano ballads before exploding into lush orchestral overtures, with Del Rey’s achy croon providing layer upon layer of heartache and melancholy." [7]

Promotion

A teaser lyric video for "Big Eyes" featuring Amy Adams, who stars in the film, was released on December 1, 2014. [3] [5] The official audio was uploaded on Del Rey's Vevo account on December 19, 2014, reaching over 14.5 million views as of December 4, 2020. [8]

The Weinstein Company, the film studio behind Big Eyes, decided to submit the song to the Academy Award for Best Original Song. [4] [6]

Reception

Billboard 's Chris Payne wrote that Del Rey's "vocal theatrics and some harrowingly haunting string-laden production draw us in". [3] Esther Zuckerman of Entertainment Weekly said the title track "delivers on its Del Rey-ian promise with a dramatic, retro flair". [9]

Accolades

"Big Eyes" was shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Original Song on December 13, 2014, with final nominees announced on January 15, 2015, [2] failing to earn a nomination. [10] On December 11, 2014, the song was nominated for Best Original Song at the 72nd Golden Globe Awards. [1] On December 15, 2014, it received a nomination for Best Song at the 20th Critics' Choice Awards, which took place on January 15, 2015. [11]

Awards
YearAwardCategoryResult
2015 87th Academy Awards Best Original Song Shortlisted
2015 72nd Golden Globe Awards Best Original Song Nominated
2015 20th Critics' Choice Awards Best Song Nominated

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terence Stamp</span> British actor

Terence Henry Stamp is an English actor. Known for his sophisticated villain roles, he was named by Empire as one of the 100 Sexiest Film Stars of All Time in 1995. He has received various accolades including a Golden Globe Award, a Cannes Film Festival Award, and a Silver Bear as well as nominations for an Academy Award and two BAFTA Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Shore</span> Canadian film score composer (born 1946)

Howard Leslie Shore is a Canadian composer, conductor and orchestrator noted for his film scores. He has composed the scores for over 80 films, most notably the scores for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies. He won three Academy Awards for his work on The Lord of the Rings, with one being for the song "Into the West", an award he shared with Eurythmics lead vocalist Annie Lennox and writer/producer Fran Walsh, who wrote the lyrics. He is a consistent collaborator with director David Cronenberg, having scored all but one of his films since 1979, and collaborated with Martin Scorsese on six of his films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Conti</span> American composer and conductor

William Conti is an American composer and conductor, best known for his film scores, including Rocky (1976), Rocky II (1979), Rocky III (1982), Rocky V (1990), Rocky Balboa (2006), The Karate Kid I (1984), The Karate Kid, Part II (1986), The Karate Kid Part III (1989), The Next Karate Kid (1994), For Your Eyes Only (1981), Dynasty, and The Right Stuff (1983), which earned him an Academy Award for Best Original Score. He also received nominations in the Best Original Song category for "Gonna Fly Now" from Rocky and for the title song of For Your Eyes Only. He was the musical director at the Academy Awards a record nineteen times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lana Del Rey</span> American singer and songwriter (born 1985)

Elizabeth Woolridge Grant, known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer and songwriter. Her music is noted for its cinematic quality and exploration of tragic romance, glamour, and melancholia, with frequent references to contemporary pop culture and 1950s–1970s Americana. Her vintage Hollywood glamour aesthetic is showcased in her music videos. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an MTV Video Music Award, three MTV Europe Music Awards, two Brit Awards, two Billboard Women in Music, and a Satellite Award, in addition to nominations for eleven Grammy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. Variety honored her at their Hitmakers Awards for being "one of the most influential singer-songwriters of the 21st century". In 2023, Rolling Stone placed Del Rey on their list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time, while their sister publication Rolling Stone UK named her as "The Greatest American Songwriter of the 21st century".

<i>Born to Die</i> 2012 studio album by Lana Del Rey

Born to Die is the second and debut major-label studio album by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. It was released on January 27, 2012, through Interscope Records and Polydor Records. A reissue of the album, subtitled The Paradise Edition, was released on November 9, 2012. The new material from the reissue was also made available on a separate EP titled Paradise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Jeans (Lana Del Rey song)</span> 2012 single by Lana Del Rey

"Blue Jeans" is a song by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey and the third single from her second studio album, Born to Die (2012). Interscope Records released the track to Italian radios on March 30, 2012. Del Rey wrote it with Dan Heath and producer Emile Haynie. The song combines sadcore, trip hop, and gothic pop over a balladic production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Anthem (Lana Del Rey song)</span> 2012 single by Lana Del Rey

"National Anthem" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey for her second studio album, Born to Die (2012). It was released as a single on June 15, 2012, through Interscope Records as the album's fourth single.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Antonoff</span> American musician (born 1984)

Jack Michael Antonoff is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Antonoff is the lead vocalist of rock band Bleachers. He was previously the guitarist and drummer for the pop rock band fun and the lead vocalist for the indie rock band Steel Train. Aside from his work with the three groups, Antonoff has been prolific in songwriting and production for various music industry acts, including Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, Sara Bareilles, the 1975, Lorde, St. Vincent, Florence and the Machine, Lana Del Rey, Sabrina Carpenter, Fifth Harmony, Kevin Abstract, Carly Rae Jepsen, the Chicks, Tegan and Sara, and Clairo. Antonoff is credited with impacting the sound of contemporary popular music throughout the 2010s and 2020s.

<i>Big Eyes</i> 2014 film by Tim Burton

Big Eyes is a 2014 American biographical drama film directed by Tim Burton, written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, and starring Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz. It is about the relationship between American artist Margaret Keane and her second husband, Walter Keane, who, in the 1950s and 1960s, took credit for Margaret's phenomenally popular paintings of people with big eyes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Young and Beautiful (Lana Del Rey song)</span> 2013 single by Lana Del Rey

"Young and Beautiful" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey used for the soundtrack to the drama film The Great Gatsby.

Joel Little is a New Zealand record producer, musician and Grammy Award-winning songwriter. He is best known for his work as a writer and producer with artists Lorde, Taylor Swift, Broods, Sam Smith, Imagine Dragons, Ellie Goulding, Khalid, Elliphant, Jarryd James, Shawn Mendes, Marina Diamandis, Amy Shark, Goodnight Nurse, Noah Kahan, Years & Years, the Jonas Brothers, and Niall Horan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicholas Britell</span> American film composer (born 1980)

Nicholas Britell is an American film and television composer. He has received numerous accolades including an Emmy Award as well as nominations for three Academy Awards and a Grammy Award. He has received Academy Award nominations for Best Original Score for Barry Jenkins' Moonlight (2016) and If Beale Street Could Talk (2018), and Adam McKay's Don't Look Up (2021). He also scored McKay's The Big Short (2015) and Vice (2018). He is also known for scoring Battle of the Sexes (2017), Cruella (2021), and She Said (2022).

<i>Ultraviolence</i> (album) 2014 studio album by Lana Del Rey

Ultraviolence is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey, released on June 13, 2014, by Polydor and Interscope Records. Originally dismissing the possibility of releasing another record after her major-label debut Born to Die (2012), Del Rey began planning its follow-up in 2013. Production continued into 2014, at which time she heavily collaborated with Dan Auerbach to revamp what she initially considered to be the completed record. The album saw additional contributions from producers such as Paul Epworth, Greg Kurstin, Daniel Heath, and Rick Nowels, and features a more guitar-based sound than Del Rey's previous releases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Coast (Lana Del Rey song)</span> 2014 single by Lana Del Rey

"West Coast" is a song by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey from her third studio album, Ultraviolence (2014). Written by Del Rey and Rick Nowels, it is a melancholy love song about a woman torn between love and ambition, and as a dedication to the West Coast of the United States. A psychedelic rock and soft rock ballad, the song was noted to be an evolution and more guitar-orientated in sound for Del Rey and was produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys. Described as a two-in-one song, its shifting tempo transitions downward by nearly 60 beats per minute at the chorus in a rhythmical shift reminiscent of The Beatles' 1965 single "We Can Work It Out", introduced by the guitar lick that begins The Beatles' 1964 single "And I Love Her". In the song, Del Rey's vocals comprises a more sensual and demented tone than in her previous releases, and are often sung in an anxious "breathy" style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music to Watch Boys To</span> 2015 single by Lana Del Rey

"Music to Watch Boys To" is a song by American singer Lana Del Rey from her fourth studio album Honeymoon (2015). It was written by Del Rey and Rick Nowels. It was released as the second single from Honeymoon on September 11, 2015, via digital download.

<i>Honeymoon</i> (Lana Del Rey album) 2015 studio album by Lana Del Rey

Honeymoon is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. It was released on September 18, 2015, by Interscope and Polydor Records. Produced by Del Rey alongside longtime collaborators Rick Nowels and Kieron Menzies, Honeymoon marked a departure from the more guitar-driven instrumentation of Del Rey's previous effort Ultraviolence (2014) and a return to the baroque pop of Born to Die (2012) and Paradise (2012). Lyrically, the album touches on themes of tortured romance, resentment, lust, escapism and violence.

<i>Big Eyes: Music from the Original Motion Picture</i> 2014 soundtrack album by Danny Elfman and various artists

Big Eyes: Music from the Original Motion Picture is the soundtrack to the 2014 film Big Eyes. The album featured 14 tracks two original songs written and performed by Lana Del Rey, musical performances from the cast and instrumental pieces from jazz musicians, while the remainder of the album has been accompanied by the original score composed by Danny Elfman. It was distributed by Interscope Records which released the album on December 23, 2014, two days before the film's release.

References

  1. 1 2 "2015 GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINATIONS". 11 December 2014. Archived from the original on December 12, 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Academy selects 79 eligible songs". December 12, 2014. Archived from the original on December 28, 2014. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Payne, Chris (December 3, 2014). "Lana Del Rey Shares 'Big Eyes' & 'I Can Fly' From New Tim Burton Film". Billboard . Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  4. 1 2 Ryan, Patrick (November 19, 2014). "Lana Del Rey pens two new songs for 'Big Eyes'". USA Today . Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  5. 1 2 Nelson, Jeff (December 3, 2014). "Amy Adams Stars in the Lyric Video for Lana Del Rey's New Song 'Big Eyes'". People . Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  6. 1 2 "Lana Del Rey Reportedly Has Two New Tracks in Tim Burton's 'Big Eyes'". Spin . November 18, 2014. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  7. Coplan, Chris (December 3, 2014). "Lana Del Rey premieres two new songs "Big Eyes" and "I Can Fly" — listen". Consequence of Sound . Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  8. "Lana Del Rey - Big Eyes (Official Audio)". YouTube . Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  9. Zuckerman, Esther (December 1, 2014). "Listen to Lana Del Rey's title song for 'Big Eyes'". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  10. "Oscars 2015: nominations in full" . Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  11. ""BIRDMAN" LEADS THE 20th ANNUAL CRITICS' CHOICE MOVE AWARDS NOMINATIONS WITH THIRTEEN". Archived from the original on August 8, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2015.