Ahead of the 2021 Oscars, H.E.R., Celeste, Leslie Odom, Jr., Laura Pausini, Daniel Pemberton, Molly Sandén, and Diane Warren performed five nominated original songs during the 2021 Academy Awards pre-show special, Oscars: Into the Spotlight, on Sunday (April 25).
For H.E.R.'s performance, which was pre-recorded and took place atop the Dolby Family Terrace of the Academy Museum of Motion Picture, the singer-songwriter performed her Oscar-nominated track, "Fight For You." Unlike her fellow nominees, the 23-year-old musician not only sang her powerful track, but she also played the drums while singing it.
Before the release of Judas and the Black Messiah, H.E.R. sat down with iHeartRadio and discussed the importance of the film and what it felt like to be asked to be a part of its soundtrack.
"I was honestly honored when I got the call," she shared. "I literally told the whole team that I felt like I could make a masterpiece for the film. The reaction has been really, really amazing. I'm just happy to be a part of this story."
H.E.R. also spoke about feeling a certain amount of pressure when creating "Fight For You" given the magnitude of the importance of Judas & The Black Messiah to the Black community and the telling of Fred Hampton's story.
"I definitely put a high standard on myself and what I wanted to achieve," she admitted. "I listened to a lot of music from that time just to really get in the vibe. I wanted to make something great because this is a powerful movie and a powerful story. I knew I had to make something that represented the movie well."
She added, "Fred Hampton wasn't just one of the leaders of the Black Panther Party; he was fighting a lot of different battles. There were so many different storylines within the movie, so when I created "Fight for You," I thought because of all the different storylines and all the battles that Fred Hampton was fighting, I wanted to really make a song that represented all of those battles. There was the love story and then the battle of the man that was working with the F.B.I., and the fight that Black people have gone through still are going through. This song had to represent that."
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