‘Let It Go’ songwriters win 2nd Oscar for song from ‘Coco’

By Mesfin Fekadu, The Associated Press

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez have the Oscar touch: the husband-and-wife songwriting duo won their second Academy Award for best original song.

The pair picked up the honour Sunday for “Remember Me” from “Coco,” four years after winning the same honour for the massive hit, “Let It Go,” from “Frozen.”

Robert Lopez dedicated the win to his late mother. His wife said she was happy to see their category include a number of female nominees.

“I really want to take a minute to look at these incredibly talented songwriters tonight. Not only are we diverse, but we are close to 50-50 for gender representation. When you look at a category like ours, it helps to imagine a world where all the categories look like this one,” Anderson-Lopez said.

Their song beat out Mary J. Blige’s “Mighty River” from “Mudbound”; Common and Diane Warren’s “Stand Up for Something” from “Marshall”; Benj Pasek and Justin Paul’s “This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman”; and Sufjan Stevens’ “Mystery of Love” from “Call Me by Your Name.”

“We were gonna go for the jet ski but we’re from Brooklyn,” Anderson-Lopez said onstage to laughs.

Singer and Golden Globe-winning actor Gael Garcia Bernal kicked off the performance of “Remember Me” with a soft version of the song, later followed by a festive and colorful performance featuring Grammy-winning R&B star Miguel and Natalia Lafourcade.

The other nominated songs were also performed at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The highlight was rapper-actor Common and singer Andra Day, who gave a powerful performance of “Stand Up for Something,” earning a standing ovation from the audience.

Blige, the first person to be nominated for best supporting actress and best original song in the same year, was emotional and strong, backed by several singers. Keale Settle stretched her vocals as she sang “This Is Me,” even tearing up near the song’s end. She was backed by a diverse group of singers and dancers — some of whom went into the audience — while Viola Davis and Blige watched in awe.

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