After many revisions, ‘Husavik’ composers finally hit high note
The makers of “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga” always knew the comedy would climax with a song. They just changed their minds about what the song would mean, what kind of song it would be and what they meant by “climax.”
“In the first few drafts, it was supposed to be a comedic moment,” said Savan Kotecha, the soundtrack’s executive producer and co-composer of the film’s Oscar-nominated song, “Husavik (My Hometown).” The song ends with the character Sigrit, played by Rachel McAdams, sustaining an epically high C sharp. “Her mom would say, ‘You’re the only one who can hit that note.’ It was this magical ‘spirit note,’ ” Kotecha said.
But along the way, director David Dobkin and co-writers Will Ferrell and Andrew Steele “realized the core of this movie is Sigrit’s journey. Rachel played Sigrit with so much heart, I think that also changed things. David realized it had to be a tearjerker moment.”
Sigrit is the musical partner and best friend of
Ferrell’s Lars, a wannabe pop star from their small Icelandic town whose quest for fame blinds him to her charms. When the filmmakers let the intended comedic ending became a more emotional one, the song changed with it. (“Toward the end of production, there were, like, 90 different versions,” Kotecha said.)
At first, said co-composer Fat Max Gsus,
“it almost had a kind of Coldplay feel to it, which changed to being more film-like, more soundtracklike. We changed keys a few times.”
“There was also a way-more ‘Eurovision’ version, almost a disco vibe to it,” said co-composer Rickard Goransson. “So it went this way, then another. We had the basic idea from the beginning, but I always felt that ‘hometown’ idea hit hard. ‘Is there a way to keep that “hometown” part?’ ”
Gsus said his Swedish background helped with “Husavik’s” lyrics, a valentine to the characters’ Scandinavian hometown.
“I was imagining myself in Sigrit’s position, how she’s feeling about her hometown. I started thinking about mine,” he said. “When I went in my mind to Husavik, I started hearing sea gulls. There are a lot of sea gulls in my hometown, Karlskrona, Sweden, as well. The only thing we don’t have is mountains, and Husavik has mountains.”
“And whales,” interjected Goransson, referring to the song’s chorus, which contains the only lyrics that might fit the kind of novelty song the filmmakers probably imagined for the film’s original ending.
The song also conveys character in ways that make the three laugh.
“It’s finally Sigrit’s moment to shine, when it’s always been Lars” getting the spotlight, Gsus said. “She sings ... and he takes the liberty to steal the moment; he starts singing, ‘Ooh, ooh.’ ”
When Kotecha was working on his first song for the film, and they needed a female singer, a collaborator said, “‘My friend, Molly, is in town. She’s, like, a big artist in Sweden,’ ” Kotecha said. In walked Molly Sanden. “She nailed it. When everyone heard that, they said, ‘Can she do the other songs?’ She’s practically, like, an Adele in Sweden; she’s a massive pop star in Sweden.”