"Glory" is a song by American rapper

Common Common may refer to: As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin. Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Com ...

(Lonnie Lynn, as awarded) and American singer

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He began his musical career working behind the scenes for other artists, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Every ...

. It was written by John Legend, Common, and Rhymefest. The song was released on December 11, 2014, by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

as the theme song from the 2014 film ''Selma'', which portrays the 1965

Selma to Montgomery marches The Selma to Montgomery marches were three Demonstration (protest), protest marches, held in 1965, along the highway from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital of Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery. The marches were organized by Nonviolence, nonvi ...

. Common also co-starred in the film as Civil Rights Movement leader James Bevel. Commercially, the song peaked at number 49 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. A music video for the song was directed by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

and was released on January 12, 2015. The song won the award for Best Original Song at the 87th Academy Awards (2015) and the 72nd Golden Globe Awards (2015), as well as the award for Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards (2016).

Awards

Music video

The music video was directed by

. It was put on Common's official

Vevo Vevo LLC ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized in all caps until 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available ...

account on January 12, 2015. The video stars Legend and Common. The video, which includes footage from the film, begins with Legend playing the piano and then singing, with Common

rapping Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...

in a different location.

Live performances

"Glory" was performed by Legend and Common on the American morning television show ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...

'' on January 5, 2015. On February 8, 2015, the duo performed the song as culmination to the 57th Annual Grammy Awards ceremonies held at the

Staples Center Crypto.com Arena (originally and colloquially known as Staples Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in downtown Los Angeles. Opened on October 17, 1999, as Staples Center, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along F ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Legend and Common performed "Glory" during the 87th Academy Awards show on February 22, 2015 using a stage-setting of Selma's

Edmund Pettus Bridge The Edmund Pettus Bridge carries U.S. Route 80 Business (Selma, Alabama), U.S. Route 80 Business (US 80 Bus.) across the Alabama River in Selma, Alabama, United States. Built in 1940, it is named after Edmund Pettus, a former Confeder ...

. The song won the Oscar for Best Original Song. In October 2015, Common surprised a student choir in

Compton, California Compton is a city located in the Gateway Cities region of southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county, and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth ci ...

with a live performance of "Glory" in support of My Brother's Keeper Challenge. The promotion was run by Omaze, a private internet company that raises funds for charity through online auctions and merchandise sales. A year later on October 26, 2016, Common performed the song with

Yolanda Adams Yolanda Yvette Adams (born August 27, 1961) is an American gospel singer, actress, and host of her own nationally syndicated morning gospel show. She is one of the best-selling gospel artists of all time, having sold over 10 million albu ...

at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

on the South Lawn for '' BET Presents: Love and Happiness: An Obama Celebration''. It was performed by Legend and Common, backed by a choir, at the 2020 Democratic National Convention. They also played it during a

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

rally at

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, a day before the

2020 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 2020. The Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and California junior senator Kamala H ...

Commercial performance

"Glory" debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 92. It became Common's fourth charted song of his own, and peaked at number 49.

Charts

Release history

References

External links

* * {{authority control 2014 singles 2014 songs John Legend songs Common (rapper) songs Songs written by John Legend Songs written by Common (rapper) Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media Columbia Records singles Def Jam Recordings singles GOOD Music singles Best Original Song Academy Award–winning songs Best Original Song Golden Globe–winning songs Soul ballads 2010s ballads Songs written by Rhymefest Songs about racism and xenophobia