Diane Warren is no stranger to Oscar nods and has been nominated for Academy Awards seven times before. But now, the legendary songwriter is nominated for her collaboration with Lady Gaga, "Til It Happens to You," which chronicles the rampant sexual assaults on American college campuses and was featured in the documentary The Hunting Ground, which tackles the same hard issues. In a new interview, Warren talks the nomination for Best Original Song and how she hopes that the eighth time is the win she's been waiting for.
"When I called her and played her the song, it was more of a somber ballad, but she really made it epic," Warren said to Billboard when asked about Gaga's take. "She made it hers and took it to another level by arranging the sh*t out of it and singing the sh*t out of it."
Warren also described wanting to bring a voice to survivors of sexual violence in the film but that the song could also stand on it's own. "I also wrote a song that fits outside of the movie, that can be about dealing with any difficult situation from bullying to losing somebody to losing your job."
Warren and Gaga join a hot list of film songs, including the themes for Fifty Shades of Grey, Racing Extinction, Youth and Spectre.
The Hollywood Reporter also caught up with Warren after a recent performance of "Til' It Happens to You" at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills. Gaga's rendition of the song at the hotel was emotionally charged and according to the publication Gaga even had tears in her eyes when she thanked the audience. She and Warren then sat together at the keyboard and urged the attendees to take care of young people in the industry.
When The Hollywood Reporter asked Warren on the writing process behind "Til' It Happens to You," she said, "It starts out vulnerable and then defiant, just like the girls in the movie. I wanted to write a song about what these girls went through and I wanted it to be empowering, and then outside of the movie I wanted it to be whatever you wanted it to be about, like bullying and grief."
