Beyoncé scores her first Oscar nomination for power ballad 'Be Alive' from 'King Richard' biopic

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By Charity Kelce // Entertainment // EEW Magazine Online

Beyoncé has picked up her first Oscar nomination. The power ballad “Be Alive,” which she wrote with the songwriter Dixson for the Venus and Serena Williams biopic “King Richard,” is up for best original song.

The 40-year-old female artist with the most Grammy wins, just may take home a trophy for the pulsing power ballad that grabbed the attention of The Academy.

“Be Alive,” which plays during the film’s end credits, is accompanied by archival footage of the real Williams family and features inspirational lyrics that chronicle the harrowing road the Williams sisters took to get to the top of the tennis world.

The drum-heavy beat and layered vocal harmonies are accompanied by the searing vocals of Beyoncé who intones:

Look how we’ve been fighting to stay alive
So when we win, we will have pride
Do you know how much we have cried?
How hard we had to fight?

Other lyrics in the uplifting song highlight Black pride, family, and sisterhood, even drawing comparisons to Common and John Legend’s Oscar-winning number, “Glory,” heard at the conclusion of Ava DuVernay’s 2014 historical drama “Selma.”

Beyoncé, a 28-time Grammy winner, was nominated for a Golden Globe for her role as Deena Jones in the 2006 film adaptation of the Broadway musical “Dreamgirls,” but it was co-star, Jennifer Hudson, who was nominated for and subsequently snagged the Oscar for her performance.

For Beyoncé to take home her first statuette, it will require her to overcome strong competition.

Also nominated in the same category is “Hamilton” creator, Lin Manuel Miranda, for “Dos Oruguitas,” a Spanish love song about two caterpillars that he wrote for Disney’s animated musical “Encanto.” The other nominees are Billie Eilish and Finneas for the James Bond song “No Time to Die” which won the Golden Globe; Van Morrison, for “Down to Joy” from “Belfast”; and “Somehow You Do” from “Four Good Days.”

Never heard “Be Alive”? Listen below.

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