Much to our chagrin, Lee Daniels’ “Precious” is gaining a lot of Oscar steam and could be this year’s “Slumdog Millionaire,” if it’s lucky.
The film hits theaters November 6th and the soundtrack, details of which just hit, arrives on November 3rd. Mary J. Blige “I See in Color” is a song originally penned for the film and will probably vie for Best Original Song come Oscar time (that race is a pretty early one right now; you can hear the track below).
Apparently Mariah Carey’s “100%” was going to be used in the film— she has a supporting role and is actually quite good in the so-so film (full of garish, strange style) — but Blige’s track was used instead. Lenny Kravitz is the other musician in the film and he plays an empathetic nurse in this urban drama (in related musician/casting news, co-star Paula Patton is married to R&B whitebread Robin Thicke).
The accolades are just pouring out for this film and we don’t really understand why, but we’ll get into that in a full review. This is not the place for it, but the performances are great. The overall tone of the direction however is so egregious it almost ruins the entire film, but it’s a testament to the great actors who keep the film ultimately in check.
“Precious” soundtrack tracklisting.
1.I Can See In Color – Mary J. Blige
2.He Is The Joy – Donna Allen
3.Was That All It Was (3:48) – Jean Carn
4.Did You Ever See A Dream Walking – Sunny Gale
5.Come Into My House – Queen Latifah
6.Just A Closer Walk With Thee – Mahalia Jackson
7.Love Is The Message – MFSB (featuring The Three Degrees)
8.Now That I Know Who I Am – Nona Hendryx
9.System – Labelle
10.Somethin’s Comin’ My Way – Performed by Grace Hightower
11.It Took A Long Time – Labelle
12.Letters – Mario Grigorov