Jennifer Hudson and Carole King came together to write “Here I Am (Singing My Way Home). It’s the only original song featured in the upcoming Aretha Franklin biopic Respect.
The song can be downloaded now with a pre-order of the Respect soundtrack.
The legendary singer-songwriter Carole King co-penned one of Aretha Franklin’s biggest hits, “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” while the American Idol season 3 alum was handpicked by Aretha to star in her biopic.
Jamie Hartman joined Carole and Jennifer as co-writer of the song. And Black Eyed Peas co-founder and The Voice UK coach will.i.am produced the track.
The long-awaited opening of Respect is set nationwide for theaters on August 13. The Epic Records soundtrack will drop on the same day.
The process of creating this song was like constructing the greatest tribute I could possibly offer to her spirit.
In a press statement posted on Billboard, Jennifer said: “Music is such a living and breathing character in this film, as it was in Ms. Franklin’s life. The process of creating this song was like constructing the greatest tribute I could possibly offer to her spirit. It was the final exhale of this extraordinary project and one that I let out with complete fulfillment. Being able to do so with Carole and Jamie was an incredible privilege.
“Carole is one of the greatest songwriters of all time and whether we were trading stories, playing piano together over video conference or working through lyrics, it was always a masterclass — both in life and music. Jamie and I have collaborated together in the past and it’s always so wonderful to create with him — he is continuously thinking outside of the box in a way that deepens the musical experience in indescribable ways. Our goal was to show that music was always the anchor for Ms. Franklin, in all that she did, and I hope this song illustrates the strength of her voice – both literally and figuratively – which always brought her home.”
Listen to the gospel flavored song “Here I Am (Singing My Way Home) below. I suspect the construction of the long title, partially in parenthesis, is deliberate.
