Christianity,  Entertainment

The backstory to “Alone Yet Not Alone”

Last week, an obscure song from an obscure movie was nominated for an Academy Award: “Alone Yet Not Alone” (listen below). The big surprise was not so much that it was from a little known independent movie but that it was from a Christian movie. Not only that, the song is sung by none other than evangelical mainstay Joni Eareckson Tada.

As you might imagine, Hollywood was pretty miffed after the announcement. After all, Oscar-nominees comprise a really exclusive club. And it’s almost unthinkable to imagine that Joni Eareckson Tada would beat out the likes of Taylor Swift, Celine Dion, and U2. But that’s exactly what happened. The question is this. How did it happen?

The Los Angeles Times reports that this came about because of a grassroots campaign on the part of the composer, who happens to be an industry insider. He used his considerable connections within the Academy to lobby for the song, and it worked. If you haven’t heard the song yet, you can do so below. To read the backstory on the nomination, you can read the Times story here: “The Curious Case of ‘Alone Yet Not Alone’.”

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