Remember this: Fil-Am Lopez’s double ‘EGOT’

WE were about a kilometer away from the nearest hospital but you could hear people coughing in odd timing. It wasn’t a case of mass hysteria nor a virus attack that hit the room—or in this case, the cinema house. People were wary about the absolute silence when the Disney-Pixar animated film “Coco” hit its heart-wrenching climax. There’s just something about silence people are afraid of.

It was during this point in the movie that its hit song tugged at heartstrings with its lullaby-esque melody and its simple lyrics pleading to a loved one for the sake of memories. I remember watching the part and just absorbing the major feels in my seat.

Fast-forward about seven months later, the track “Remember Me” from the film won Best Original Song during yesterday’s Academy Awards. The film “Coco” also won Best Animated Feature.

The song, written by songwriting duo Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, beat Mary J. Blige’s “Mighty River” from “Mudbound”; Common and Diane Warren’s “Stand Up for Something” from “Marshall”; Benj Pasek and Justin Paul’s “This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman” and Sufjan Stevens’ “Mystery of Love” from “Call Me by Your Name.”

The Lopez couple also wrote the hit song “Let It Go” from “Frozen” which also won the same award four years ago.

“Remember Me” is a kind of song that makes or breaks a particular project. I can only imagine the sense of accomplishment the Lopez couple have now from a creative and commercial standpoint for writing award-winning songs like “Remember Me” and “Let It Go.”

Here’s one last piece of trivia that should wow music enthusiasts or artists in general: Filipino-American Robert Lopez is the only person in the world who has achieved a double “EGOT.”

EGOT loosely stands for the Emmy Awards, Grammy Awards, Oscar Awards and Tony Awards. There are currently 12 people who have achieved an “EGOT”—winning an award per body. Lopez has not only achieved winning an award from each but has won at least twice, thus, a double EGOT.

Lopez has “Remember Me” and “Let It Go” for the Oscars; two Emmy awards for his work on the animated children’s series “Wonder Pets”; and three Grammys for “Book of Mormon” (Best Musical Theater Album), “Frozen” (Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media) and “Let It Go” (Best Song Written for Visual Media). As for the Tony’s: Best Original Score for “Avenue Q” and Best Book and Best Original Score for “Book of Mormon.”

Keep an eye on Robert Lopez and maybe we can learn a thing or two from his award-winning ways.

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