Why M.I.A. should win the Oscar for best song - Newsday
Posted 1/27/2009 by IGA
This year’s race for the best original song Oscar is getting way more attention than usual – in part for who’s in the race and, in part, for who isn’t.
There are only three nominees out of 49 eligible songs this year – “Down to Earth” from “Wall-E,” and “Jai Ho” and “O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire” – due to the music Oscar’s weird ranking system that only nominates songs that scored higher than 8.25 out of 10 with its members. Bruce Springsteen’s “The Wrestler,” which just won the Golden Globe for best song, didn’t make the cut.
Now Peter Gabriel’s “Down to Earth,” which plays over the “Wall-E” credits is nice enough, but the original songs of A.R. Rahman really are a major part of “Slumdog Millionaire.” The same goes for M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes,” which is so dominant in one segment that it not only looks like the film was edited to fit the song, but that it was shot with that song in mind.
CLICK HERE to read the full story
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Posted 1/22/2009 by IGA
“Slumdog Millionaire” receives TEN Academy Award Nominations including:
Best Picture
Music (Score)
Music (Song): “Jai Ho”
Music (Song): “O…Saya”
Cinematography
Directing
Film Editing
Sound Editing
Sound Mixing
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
» www.myspace.com
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'Slumdog Millionaire' Up For Three Oscars In Music Categories - Billboard.Biz
Posted 1/22/2009 by IGA
January 22, 2009 - Global
By Ann Donahue, L.A.
"Slumdog Millionaire" leads the way in the Oscar music categories, with songs "Jai Ho" and "O Saya" nominated for best achievement in music written for motion pictures (best song) and A.R. Rahman nominated for achievement in music written for motion pictures (original score.)
"It's been a dream to get an Oscar," Rahman tells Billboard.biz. "I thought maybe one nomination -- but three? It's really something. I was so excited."
For best song, the nominees are:
"Down to Earth" from "WALL-E" (Walt Disney), Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, Lyric by Peter Gabriel
"Jai Ho" from "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight), Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Gulzar
"O Saya" from "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight), Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam, better known as M.I.A.
For best score, the nominees are:
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Alexandre Desplat
"Defiance" (Paramount Vantage), James Newton Howard
"Milk" (Focus Features), Danny Elfman
"Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight), A.R. Rahman
"WALL-E" (Walt Disney), Thomas Newman
In the best song category, the Academy has the option of nominating anywhere between three to five songs; this year, only three made the cut. Not nominated? Bruce Springsteen, who won the Golden Globe for the title track for "The Wrestler."
CLICK HERE to read the full story
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Slumdog Millionaire Composer AR Rahman in Billboard
Posted 1/13/2009 by IGA
'Slumdog' Composer Rahman Talks MIA, Musical Breakthrough
By Cortney Harding, N.Y.
Composer AR Rahman might not be a household name in the States quite yet, but he’s one of most well-known musicians in his native India, where his musical scores appear in scores of films every year. He’s well on his way to breaking through in the West, though, with his Golden Globe win for Best Original Score for the film "Slumdog Millionaire." The soundtrack, which features MIA on several tracks, has sold 25,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan. The soundtrack was released digitally Nov. 25, 2008 and physically Dec. 23.
Rahman got his start writing music for Indian TV ads in the early nineties and switched to film, for which he composed several soundtracks a year. In 2002, Andrew Lloyd Webber commissioned him to write the music for the play Bombay Dreams, which ran in London’s West End. Billboard spoke to Rahman about his recent victory and plans for the future.
Billboard: Do you feel your Golden Globe win represents a step forward for Indian music in the U.S.? Do you anticipate more Americans will begin to seek out Indian music?
Rahman: I think it’s probably the first major breakthrough, and it will create a bridge between the audiences. With the film winning so many awards and getting so much attention, I think it will lead to a crossover and more people exploring Indian music.
I also think MIA had something to do with it. It was great timing, because her song became such a hit right before the soundtrack was released.
Billboard: Many people in the States who do know about Indian music think that it is mainly Bollywood-style, up-tempo compositions, when in fact, India has a rich musical diversity. Is it your intention to try to introduce Americans to different genres of Indian music?
Rahman: The win is such a blessing in disguise. Bollywood music is definitely a big part of Indian music, and can be a great way to introduce people to the sound. But I hope to continue to incorporate other types of Indian music in to my work.
Read the full interview here:
http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003929553 Digg | Del.icio.us | Facebook |
Posted 1/13/2009 by IGA
Victories for Slumdog; Celebrations in India
Compiled by JULIE BLOOM
“Slumdog Millionaire” has yet to be released in Mumbai, but that hasn’t stopped the city from celebrating. Newspaper headlines captured the city’s pride after the Golden Globe ceremony on Sunday night, when the movie, set in the gritty streets of Mumbai, took home four awards, including best dramatic film, The Associated Press reported. “The $lumdog Has Its Day,” The Times of India said. The Hindustan Times declared “Indian tale catches global fancy.” The movie was also honored with awards for its director (Danny Boyle), screenplay (by Simon Beaufoy) and original score (by the Indian composer
A. R. Rahman). Mr. Rahman’s award inspired particular pride for the country and city of Mumbai, which produces more than 200 films a year, according to Subir Malik, an Indian musician. “It was brilliant,” he said. “It may sound clichéd, but it felt very good seeing Rahman winning an award and our own guys like Anil Kapoor on the same stage as Brad Pitt.” The film will be released in India on Jan. 23.
» www.nytimes.com
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Slumdog Millionaire Wins 4 Golden Globes including Best Original Score
Posted 1/12/2009 by IGA
Slumdog Millionaire took home FOUR golden globes tonight including:
Best Original Score - CLICK HERE to listen
Best Motion Picture - Drama
Best Director - Motion Picture
Best Screenplay
CLICK HERE to read the full story.
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Slumdog composer A.R. Rahman is a big deal
Posted 1/12/2009 by IGA
Slumdog composer A.R. Rahman is a big deal
January 12, 2009, by Jon Sufrin
Slumdog Millionaire is sucking back the awards like nobody's business.
So too is its soundtrack. The film's score snagged Critic's Choice Awards last week and a Golden Globe on Sunday, making it a clear frontrunner for an Oscar.
But have you heard of this A.R. Rahman guy, who composed the widely lauded score?
Me neither. And we're not the only ones. As of Monday, the HMV Superstore in Toronto had just 1 (one) copy of an A.R. Rahman album in stock – Beyond Heaven and Earth (2004), one of Rahman's orchestral works.
Maybe it's because most of his best-known work lies in the realm of Bollywood. He is, after all, the first Indian composer to have won a Golden Globe, as Reuters reports.
His name may be unfamiliar to many of us, but Rahman is no composing newcomer. His discography is fairly lengthy, with 19 releases since 1995, most of them Bollywood soundtracks, according to allmusic.com.
Read the full story here: http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/theampersand/archive/2009/01/12/slumdog-composer-a-r-rahman-is-a-big-deal.aspx
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Slumdog Millionaire Composer in Reuters
Posted 1/12/2009 by IGA
Golden Globe icing on A.R. Rahman's career
Mon Jan 12, 2009
By Shilpa Jamkhandikar
MUMBAI (Reuters) - A.R. Rahman, who won a Golden Globe award on Sunday for best musical score with "Slumdog Millionaire", is one of India's most famous Bollywood composers and has sold nearly as many albums as Madonna.
His scores for a host of Indian language movies have fused global influences from hip-hop and rap to Broadway musicals and Indian folk music in a way that critics believe could help Bollywood music become more global.
Rahman, 43, wrote the music for the rags-to-riches romance of a Mumbai slum boy. The film also bagged three more Golden Globe honours for best drama, best director and best screenwriter.
It is the first time an Indian has won a Golden Globe for composing in a country whose rich classical traditions have inspired oeuvres of global music. Yet, Indian film music is mostly popular only with lovers of Bollywood.
"This means so much for Indian music," said Gulzar, acclaimed filmmaker and Bollywood lyricist, who wrote one of the "Slumdog" songs.
"Not just classical (Indian) music, for which you can credit Pandit Ravi Shankar and all the other musicians, but when it comes to cinema and its music, Rahman has really brought it to the global stage."
Go to the full story: http://in.reuters.com/article/topNews/idINIndia-37400420090112?pageNumber=3&virtualBrandChannel=0
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