So Close (Enchanted song) nominated for Academy Awards
"So Close" is a song written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz for the musical fantasy film Enchanted (2007), recorded by American singer Jon McLaughlin. In the film, the song is performed by McLaughlin as himself, a band vocalist, musically accompanying main characters Giselle and Robert as they dance together at a costume ball. The song's lyrics describe both their relationship with each other, as well as Giselle's journey and growth as a character.
Enchanted's songs become more contemporary in style as Giselle matures into a modern-day young woman, with "So Close" resembling the style of music featured in Disney films during the 1990s, a theme similarly reflected by the character's choice of wardrobe during the scene. A romantic pop ballad, Menken and Schwartz based "So Close" on the title song from Disney's Beauty and the Beast (1991), a song Menken himself had written the music for, while its cinematography was designed to invoke the camera movement in Beauty and the Beast's famous ballroom sequence. The track was arranged and produced by Robbie Buchanan, who had previously arranged pop versions of the theme songs from Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin (1992) and Pocahontas (1995).
The song has received generally negative reviews from film and music critics, who were unimpressed with its slow tempo. "So Close" was one of three songs from Enchanted nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 80th Academy Awards. McLaughlin's live performance during the telecast was met with critical acclaim, and is credited with introducing the singer to a wider audience while bolstering sales of his own material.Reception
Critical reception towards "So Close" has been generally negative. Filmtracks.com described the song as "stale". The Houston Chronicle's Amy Biancolli criticized its slow tempo, writing that "musical nitpickers ... might wish that [the] climactic ballroom 'waltz' had actually been in three-four time." Golderby writer Andrew Carden dismissed "So Close" as "a real snooze." Jared Johnson, writing for The Sojourn, conversely described the track as "a beautiful love ballad"."So Close" was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 80th Academy Awards in 2008, in addition to "Happy Working Song" and "That's How You Know" from Enchanted. "So Close" was the only nominated song from Enchanted not performed by Adams. The three songs had collectively sold 177,000 digital downloads prior to the awards ceremony. Although Peter Knegt of IndieWire enjoyed Enchanted's songs, he felt that "So Close" was undeserving of a nomination. Billboard polled its readers, asking them which of the five nominees they hoped would win Best Original Song, 10% of whom voted for "So Close". "So Close" is ranked as McLaughlin's most streamed song on Spotify, having accumulated more than 16 million streams as of January 2019.In 2020, Ross Tanenbaum of Screen Rant ranked "So Close" Disney's fourth most underrated song, describing it as a charming ballad with "good lyrics, an enchanting melody, and a soothing vocal performance." The same publication ranked "So Close" the best song from Enchanted.The Odyssey Online's McKinley Catherine Keener described "So Close" as "simultaneously one of the sweetest and most heartbreaking songs Disney has ever produced."
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