John Legend and Common walked away with a Golden Globe win for their song “Glory.” The record won the Best Original Song award for the film Selma. Music icon Prince presented the award to Legend and Common. During his acceptance speech, Common stated, “The first day I stepped on the set of Selma I began to feel like this was bigger than a movie. As I got to know the people of the Civil Rights Movement I realized I am the hopeful black woman who was denied the right to vote. I am the caring white supporter killed on the front lines of freedom. I am the unarmed black kid, who maybe needed a hand, but instead was given a bullet. I am the two fallen police officers murdered in the line of duty. Selma has awakened my humanity.”
This is the first Golden Globe win for both Common and Legend. A few days ago, the two recording artists spoke about the process of recording such a powerful song. John Legend said the artist’s carefully crafted “Glory” to reflect the weight of the civil rights movement, “First of all, this movie really tells a story of such a powerful movement, a movement that’s still relevant today, that still inspires us today.” Legend also mentioned how the song captures the mood of the nation, “Everything is not perfect right now, we still have a long way to go and I think Common’s lyrics really capture that perfectly because he talks about what happened fifty years ago but also what’s happening in America right now.” Selma is a historical adaption of the protests that occurred during an effort to walk the highway from Selma to the Alabama state capital in Montgomery.
John Legend and Common have collaborated on numerous songs together. Common was featured on Legend’s “Wake Up Everybody” song in 2010. In 2011, they collaborated on the song “The Believer.” The record was featured on Common’s album The Dreamer/The Believer. At one point in time, both artists were signed to Kanye West‘s record label G.O.O.D Music. Legend and Common were also featured artists on West’s song “They Say.”