"Fight for You" is a song by

H.E.R. Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson (born June 27, 1997), known professionally as H.E.R. (pronounced "her", an acronym for "Having Everything Revealed"), is an American singer, songwriter, musician and actress. She has received several awards includin ...

written for the 2021 film ''

Judas and the Black Messiah ''Judas and the Black Messiah'' is a 2021 biographical crime drama film about the betrayal of Fred Hampton (played by Daniel Kaluuya), chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party in late-1960s Chicago, by William O'Neal (played ...

''. H.E.R. co-wrote it with Tiara Thomas and co-composed and co-produced it with

D'Mile Dernst "D'Mile" Emile II (born January 24, 1985) is an American record producer and songwriter from Brooklyn, New York City. He was sometimes referred to as D. Emile, Dernst Emile II, or Dee'Mile and is most commonly known and accredited as D'Mil ...

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Ari ...

released it as a digital single on February 4, 2021. The song received multiple film award-related nominations, including the

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song The Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song is a Golden Globe Award that was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The award is presented to the songwriters of a ...

and the

Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Song The Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Song is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Broadcast Film Critics Association. Winners and nominees 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s See also *Academy Award for ...

, and won the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for

Best Original Song This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the 93rd ceremony. It also received three nominations at the

64th Annual Grammy Awards The 64th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 3, 2022. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from September 1, 2020, to September 30, ...

, including Song of the Year, winning for

Best Traditional R&B Performance The Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Performance is an accolade presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally named the Gramophone Awards, to performers of quality traditional R&B vocal performances. ...

. The song reached the number 43 on

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture ...

Ultratip Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organization of ...

chart.

Composition

co-wrote "Fight for You" with Tiara Thomas, and co-composed and co-produced it with

. The song was written for the 2020 film ''

'', a

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docu ...

about how William O'Neal betrayed

Fred Hampton Fredrick Allen Hampton Sr. (August 30, 1948 – December 4, 1969) was an American activist. He came to prominence in Chicago as deputy chairman of the national Black Panther Party and chair of the Illinois chapter. As a progressive African Ameri ...

, the chairman of the Illinois chapter of the

Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxist-Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, Califo ...

in the late 1960s. Film director

Shaka King Shaka King (born March 7, 1980) is an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He is best known for directing and co-writing the 2021 biopic ''Judas and the Black Messiah''. Biography An only child, King was born on March 7, 1 ...

told H.E.R. he wanted to listen to "something contemporary with echoes of 1968". After he heard elements inspired by

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.

, he approved the song. H.E.R. said that " ere's not much that separates that time and that story from what's going on right now with the

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police brutali ...

movement in the

Black community Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in s ...

". The lyrics discuss racism,

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...

and equality. Musically,

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

said "Fight for You" was influenced by

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the mid ...

-soul, 1960s

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

, and 1960s-and-1970s

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became p ...

. It has an

uptempo A variety of musical terms are likely to be encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian, in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special mu ...

sound and starts with "aggressive" drums.

Promotion

"Fight for You" was released as the lead single from '' Judas and the Black Messiah: The Inspired Album'' on February 4, 2021. H.E.R. performed the song live at ''

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic commun ...

'' in February 2021 and a pre-recorded performance was broadcast at the

93rd Academy Awards The 93rd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released from January 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021, at Union Station in Los Angeles. The ceremony was held on April 25, 2021 ...

pre-show, ''Oscars: Into the Spotlight''.

Critical reception

Kyle Eustice said H.E.R. conveys singer

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

on "Fight for You". Andy Kellman commented that the singer shadows " You're the Man" by Gaye.

Accolades

At the 93rd Academy Awards, "Fight for You" won the

award, which was called a surprise as " Io sì (Seen)", " Husavik" and "Speak Now" were seen as the favorites.

Charts

References

{{authority control 2020 songs 2021 singles American soul songs Best Original Song Academy Award-winning songs H.E.R. songs Songs written by D'Mile Songs written by H.E.R. Songs written by Tiara Thomas Songs written for films Works about the Black Panther Party RCA Records singles