"Down to Earth" is a song co-written and performed by English rock musician

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

for the 2008

computer-animated Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes (still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refer ...

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californ ...

film '' WALL·E''. It was released on June 10, 2008, by

Walt Disney Records Walt Disney Records is an American record label of the Disney Music Group. The label releases soundtrack albums from The Walt Disney Company's motion picture studios, television series, theme parks, and traditional studio albums produced by its ...

and

Real World Records Real World Records is a British record label specializing in world music. It was founded in 1989 by English musician Peter Gabriel and original members of WOMAD. A majority of the works released on Real World Records feature music recorded ...

. Composed by Gabriel and

Thomas Newman Thomas Montgomery Newman (born October 20, 1955) is an American composer and conductor best known for his many film scores. In a career that has spanned over four decades, he has scored numerous films including '' The Player'' (1992); '' The Sh ...

, with lyrics by Gabriel, and featuring the

Soweto Gospel Choir The Soweto Gospel Choir is a South African gospel group. History The Soweto Gospel Choir was formed in Soweto, South Africa, by David Mulovhedzi and Beverly Bryer, and producers Andrew Kay, David Vigo and Cliff Hocking in 2002. The more than 30- ...

, the song is the 37th song on the soundtrack album to ''WALL·E'', in which it is featured over the end credits.

Background

The song saw release as a

promotional single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

for the Pixar animated feature film ''WALL·E'' on June 10, 2008. It was released as a digital download single on July 6, 2008. "As a kid I loved animation, so I'm a huge Pixar fan," Gabriel explained to Mark Blake. "I have seen ''WALL·E'' many times as I have young children. It was also great to work with the scorer Thomas Newman... He wrote the best TV theme tune ever: for '' Six Feet Under''."

Reception

Nominated for the Best Original Song award at the

Golden Globes The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

, and the Best Original Song award at the 81st Academy Awards, "Down to Earth" lost to

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originato ...

's " The Wrestler" from '' The Wrestler'' and

A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...

's " Jai Ho" from ''

Slumdog Millionaire ''Slumdog Millionaire'' is a 2008 British drama film that is a loose adaptation of the novel '' Q & A'' (2005) by Indian author Vikas Swarup. It narrates the story of 18-year-old Jamal Malik from the Juhu slums of Mumbai. Starring Dev Pa ...

'', respectively. However, it won the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media in 2009.

Chart performance

References

External links

On Pixar Blog
{{authority control 2008 singles Peter Gabriel songs Pixar songs Songs with music by Thomas Newman Songs written by Peter Gabriel WALL-E Environmental songs Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media Walt Disney Records singles 2008 songs World music songs