Tuesday, July 5, 2011

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 28

Day 28 - Your Favorite Song This Time Last Year


"Never Knew I Needed" - Ne-Yo, The Princess and the Frog: Original Songs and Score (2009)


Remember my rant about horrible Disney end credits songs? Well, luckily, that trend ended some time in the early 2000's. This was due to Disney releasing movies that lacked original songs. Oh, believe me, there were still end credits songs, but they usually had nothing to do with the film, nor appeared anywhere in said film.


The Princess and the Frog's end credits song still stays away from that evil formula of beautiful ballad + chimes and woodblocks = soft rock gold. While all the other songs and score were written by two-time-Oscar-winning songwriter Randy Newman, the last one was, for some reason, written by R&B singer Ne-Yo. Why? Cause he's black maybe? And they figured since the movie is about a black girl maybe there should be at least one song by a black person?


I don't really care about the pseudo-racist marketing strategy behind the decision because "Never Knew I Needed" is easily the best song on the soundtrack. There, I said it. Lyrically, the song fits with Tiana and Naveen's unexpected romance. But it's still a late 2000's R&B song and doesn't fit with Randy Newman's craptacular stab at 20's era jazz. Personally, I wish they had "broadway-ized" Ne-Yo's song. Now wouldn't that have been interesting?

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