Common wrote his Oscar-nominated song Stand Up For Something in response to President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
The track, from the movie Marshall which stars Black Panther actor Chadwick Boseman, which is sung by Andra Day and co-written by Diane Warren, will battle it out with songs from The Greatest Showman, Mudbound, Call Me by Your Name and Coco on 4 March.
Common, who previously bagged an Academy Award for his song with John Legend, Glory, from the movie Selma, opened up about Stand Up for Something during a panel hosted by the Songwriters Hall of Fame and Variety on Thursday (22Feb18).
“So many people were down (after Trump’s inauguration) and I was like, ‘Man, we have the power as human beings to put the light out in the world, there’s no one man who can take us down, no government that can take us down,’ so this song for me was an outlet,” he shared.
Both Common and Diane, who’s up for her ninth Oscar, noted the song’s political relevance in the wake of the high school shooting in Florida earlier this month.
“Last night I was watching the town hall on CNN and they were using Stand Up for Something for the song… just to have art that’s connected with that is very important,” the 45-year-old said.
“Everyday it becomes more timely,” Diane added. “Look what those kids are doing right now, you see people standing up.”
As well as nonprofit organization Everytown for Gun Safety, which advocates gun control, the #MeToo movement and American Civil Liberties Union have also embraced Common and Diane’s track.
