Is Lady Gaga ‘Gun’ning For Another Oscar With Her New Single?
Lady Gaga's "Hold My Hand" has all the makings of Oscar bait, and sounds like the kind of track to attract the attention of Academy voters.
In 2020, Lady Gaga returned to the dance-pop that made her a household name more than a decade ago with her album Chromatica, which produced smashes like “Rain on Me” with Ariana Grande and “Stupid Love.”
In 2021, she teamed up with Tony Bennett once more for their second collaborative effort, Love For Sale, which ended up garnering critical praise and bookmarked his incredible career. Now, in 2022, it appears that the superstar is looking to add to her trophy shelf with a possible second Academy Award.
Gaga has shared her new single “Hold My Hand,” which was written and produced specifically for the upcoming film Top Gun: Maverick, the long-awaited sequel to the ’80s blockbuster Top Gun. The tune arrived on May 3, and with it began what will likely be a months-long campaign to secure another Oscar nomination, and then possibly a second win.
The singer-songwriter announced “Hold My Hand” in a tweet several days before the tune arrived, and she made it clear in no uncertain terms that this wasn’t just another track, but one made just for that film.
“When I wrote this song for Top Gun: Maverick…” she began, immediately putting the idea into the minds of the public that “Hold My Hand” is, in fact, eligible for the Best Original Song Oscar.
That award doesn’t just go to compositions featured in movies, but ones that are crafted just for that piece of media.
“Hold My Hand” has all the makings of Oscar bait, and it sounds like the kind of track that was written and composed not just to fit the film, but to attract the attention of Academy voters.
It’s a soaring, over-the-top, pop-rock ballad filled with powerful vocals and deep, meaningful lyrics all about love and loyalty. Those who pick the nominees and winners have shown through past choices that they gravitate toward songs like Gaga’s latest, and that’s no coincidence.
All evidence suggests that Gaga didn’t just write a song for a movie as a new project, but that she is keenly interested in competing for another Oscar — and why shouldn’t she be? The pop icon is already a three-time nominee and one-time winner, as her global smash “Shallow” from A Star Is Born was named the Best Original Song in 2019.
That year, she was also up for Best Actress in the same picture, but the trophy went to Olivia Coleman for The Favourite. Gaga and songwriter Diane Warren teamed up a few years prior for “Til It Happens to You,” which was nominated for Best Original Song, but lost to Sam Smith’s James Bond theme “Writing’s on the Wall.”
“Hold My Hand” feels and sounds like the natural successor to the single “Take My Breath Away” by the band Berlin. That track was written and produced for the first Top Gun, and it went on to become a huge hit, rising all the way to No. 1 on the Hot 100.
“Take My Breath Away” ended up winning the Best Original Song Oscar in 1986, though the prize didn’t go to members of Berlin, but rather writers and producers Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock.
Unlike that classic, Gaga had a hand in every bit of the creation of “Hold My Hand,” which might make it seem even more impressive to those who pick the possible Oscar champions.
Will Gaga and her collaborators BloodPop and Benjamin Rice end up earning an Oscar nod for their new song? That won’t be revealed for at least half a year, as the Academy Award nominations are a long way off — though it’s never too early to begin setting the song up for success on the award circuit.
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