"I Am" is a song by New Zealand musician
Stan Walker. A bilingual ballad sung in English and
Te Reo Māori, the song was written for the soundtrack of the
Ava DuVernay film ''
Origin'' (2023). The song debuted at number 19 on the New Zealand Singles chart, and was nominated for the
at the
14th Hollywood Music in Media Awards
The 14th Hollywood Music in Media Awards recognized the best in music in film, TV, video games, commercials, and trailers of 2023. The ceremony was held on November 15, 2023, at The Avalon in Hollywood.
The nominations were announced on Novemb ...
.
Background and composition
Director
Ava DuVernay, while looking for an unexpected song for the closing credits of her 2023 film ''
Origin'', was shown Walker's cover of
Kanye West's "
Ultralight Beam" by her collaborator
Paul Garnes. Feeling drawn to Walker's performance, DuVernay searched on
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
for any mutual connections that she had with Walker, and asked New Zealand film producer
Chelsea Winstanley to connect the two. The following day, DuVernay spoke to Walker on the phone, offering him the chance to perform the film's theme song.
Walker cowrote the song with Michael Fatkin,
Vince Harder and Te Kanapu Anasta as a response to the content of the film, taking inspiration from the themes of ethnic identity reclamation and reconnection.
Walker incorporated
Te Reo Māori into the song's lyrics, feeling that this was important coming from his own perspective and own personal ethnic identity, and was surprised when DuVernay agreed to include the lyrics.
Release and promotion
Walker first performed the song on 18 October 2023, at private screening of ''Origin'' in
West Hollywood, where DuVernay announced that the song would be submitted as a contender for the
Oscars.
The song was released as a single on 27 November 2023, and made its debut on US television on the talk show ''
CBS Mornings'' on the same day.
A music video for the song was released on 28 November 2023, shot in different locations around New Zealand.
Walker co-directed the video alongside music video director Shae Sterling.
"I Am" is planned to be the leading single from an
extended play to be released by Walker in early 2024.
Critical reception
Russell Baillie of the ''
New Zealand Listener
The ''New Zealand Listener'' is a weekly New Zealand magazine that covers the political, cultural and literary life of New Zealand by featuring a variety of topics, including current events, politics, social issues, health, technology, arts, f ...
'' reviewed the song positively, calling it a "plus-size anthem" and naming it as one of the ''Listener''s songs of the week.
The song was nominated for the
Best Original Song – Feature Film award at the
14th Hollywood Music in Media Awards
The 14th Hollywood Music in Media Awards recognized the best in music in film, TV, video games, commercials, and trailers of 2023. The ceremony was held on November 15, 2023, at The Avalon in Hollywood.
The nominations were announced on Novemb ...
.
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from
Tidal.
*Te Kanapu Anasta – songwriter
*Michael Fatkin – producer, songwriter
*
Vince Harder – songwriter
*Stan Walker – songwriter, vocalist
Charts
References
{{Authority control
2023 singles
2023 songs
Film theme songs
Macaronic songs
Songs in Māori
New Zealand songs
Pop ballads
Stan Walker songs
Songs written by Stan Walker