Best Musical Moment of the Oscars: AR Rahman & John Legend

Forget the ode-to-Musicals theme and performances from last night's Oscars: The true history-making musical moment of the night was when AR Rahman became the first Indian to receive 2 Oscars, procuring a double win for Best Original Score and Song. The performance of the nominees for Best Original Song was the highlight of the night, as 3 very beautiful numbers were up for the win: "O Saya" featuring MIA, and "Jai Ho", both by AR Rahman, written for Slumdog Millionaire, and "Down to Earth" by Peter Gabriel, from Wall*E. Rahman and singer John Legend, in place of Gabriel, delivered remarkable performances together.


The 3 nominated songs were combined into a brief medley and were performed by the unlikely but talented pair of Rahman, a renown Bollywood composer, and Legend, a young American R&B singer and pianist. (MIA couldn't be there to accompany Rahman since she gave birth to her first baby boy last week!) The performance erupted in a swirl of fuchsia as dancers clad in Indian-inspired costume swarmed the stage to the beat of Rahman's outstanding song, "O Saya". As the many drummers supplied the foundation for the beat-based song, the humble super-producer demonstrated his passionate vocals. The mood then simmered down as Legend emerged to sing the beautiful lyrics of "Down to Earth", written for the surprisingly deep and masterfully sound-edited animated film Wall*E. The audience was hit with another blast of culture as Legend's backing vocalists from the Soweto Gospel Choir appeared, dressed in colorful, traditional African garb. The Indian ensemble then recaptured the stage for Rahman's lively "Jai Ho", and the performance ended with Rahman and Legend singing simultanneously, mash-up style.

Afterward, when Rahman accepted the award for "Jai Ho", he remarked:
"All my life I've had a choice of hate and love. I chose love, and I'm here. God bless."

Official hero? You bet.


To see Rahman and Legend's performance yourself, click here.

Rahman's wins both celebrated Slumdog Millionaire's great success (8 Oscars total) as well as represented a victory for the entire nation of India. Check out the people's reaction here.

~CLICK HERE to read my post from last month about the Slumdog Millionaire film & soundtrack!~

Don't forget to download "O Saya", "Jai Ho", and "Down to Earth"!

Slumdog Millionaire: A Paradox Explained Through Picture and Sound

I've been dying to see "Slumdog" since I heard that MIA contributed generously to the soundtrack. The kick-ass, British-Sri Lankan musical artist, noted for her heavy, sociopolitical lyrics, often juxtaposed with a clubby dance beat, offers an authentic sound and message that is perfectly compatible with the movie's agenda. The film itself is full of juxtapositions and contradictions, as noted in the title. Indian super-producer AR Rahman crafted a brilliant soundtrack, named Best Original Score by the Golden Globes, that juxtaposes new and old by fusing genuine Indian sound with modern influences from the Western world. Hearing the soundtrack is half the experience of absorbing the plot line of the Best Picture of the Year.

Through a series of intense flashbacks, the film tells the painful life-story of an 18-year old from the slums who luckily ends up on the Indian version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire". Young Jamaal Malik's tale, with an interwoven love story, reveals the sharp contrast between the urban and industrialized, Bollywood-deluded India that tourists flock to, and the dirty, crime-riddled life of the poor in the shantytowns. The masterful cinematography captures this contrast by catching brightly colored clothing and fresh produce against dismal piles of debris, and showing warm bursts of light shine in the eyes of struggling children in the darkest of situations.

Though religion, power, and love are other dense topics explored by the movie, the motif of money, and the theme of seemingly justified thievery and deception, are most central to the film. MIA offered her hustler anthem "Paper Planes", as well as the DFA remix of it, to a scene in which 6-year old Jamaal and older brother Salim hop trains selling cheap, stolen goods. The Academy Award-nominated song "O...Saya" also conveys life on the run through MIA's hasty verse and AR Rahman's fast, booming drum beats from the Indian instrument called a tabla. The track mixes a poignant hook in Hindi with electronic manipulations to paint a picture of raw hustler spirit set to the pace of the big city.

"Liquid Dance" is another great example of Rahman's genius. The track opens with a high-speed Hindi chant and morphs into an electro masterpiece. The suspenseful "Mausam and Escape" begins with a flurry of pleasant notes from the Indian classical instrument the jaltarang, and then suddenly becomes the superior fusion of typical Bollywood string arrangements and steady, hip-hop beats.

"Slumdog Millionaire" is a sensuous combination of color, sound, and emotion. It has an idealist's ending, and leaves us believing that love can prevail, even after a lifetime of struggle. The music will guide you through this tumultuous journey. And at the end, you'll understand how the dark and light of life experience is 100 times more valuable than book smarts.

"O... Saya": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDXiCsP576I