"Somewhere Out There" is a song released by

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

and recorded by American singers

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is an American singer who has performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin music. Ronstadt has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three A ...

and

James Ingram James Edward Ingram (February 16, 1952 – January 29, 2019) was an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He was a two-time Grammy Award-winner and a two-time Academy Award nominee for Best Original Song. After beginning his career ...

for the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

of the animated feature film '' An American Tail'' (1986). The song was written by

James Horner James Roy Horner (August 14, 1953 – June 22, 2015) was an American film composer. He worked on more than 160 film and television productions between 1978 and 2015. He was known for the integration of choral and electronic elements alongside tr ...

Barry Mann Barry Mann (born Barry Imberman; February 9, 1939) is an American songwriter and musician, and was part of a successful songwriting partnership with his wife, Cynthia Weil. He has written or co-written 53 hits in the UK and 98 in the US. Early ...

, and

Cynthia Weil Cynthia Weil (October 18, 1940 – June 1, 2023) was an American songwriter who wrote many songs together with her husband Barry Mann. Weil and Mann were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987, and in 2011, they jointly received the ...

, and produced by Peter Asher and Steve Tyrell. It reached number eight in the United Kingdom, number six in Ireland, and number two in both the United States and Canada.

Background

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

, the film's producer, invited songwriters Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil to collaborate with James Horner on four songs for its soundtrack, to be completed in a four-week timeframe. The composers "felt no pressure to come up with a radio-friendly hit" and were surprised when Spielberg felt the song had

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

hit potential and recruited world-renowned recording artists,

and

, to record a pop version of it for the film's closing credits. In the main body of the film, the song was performed by

Phillip Glasser Phillip Alexander Glasser (born October 4, 1978) is an American producer and a former actor. He is best known for providing the voice of Fievel Mousekewitz in '' An American Tail'' (1986), its sequel '' An American Tail: Fievel Goes West'' (1991 ...

and Betsy Cathcart in the characters of the

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to ...

mice Fievel and Tanya Mousekewitz. Produced by Ronstadt's regular producer Peter Asher, the single release of the Ronstadt/Ingram track made its debut at number 31 on the Adult Contemporary chart in ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' dated November 15, 1986, crossing over to the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 dated December 20, 1986, with a number 83 debut. In January 1987, the song returned Ronstadt to the top 40 after a four-year absence, eventually peaking at number two on the week of March 14.

Music video

The music video for the song was written, directed, and produced by Jeffrey Abelson. It was filmed on a stage in Hollywood, designed to look like a pair of animator lofts in New York City. The video features Ronstadt and Ingram, each at an animation desk in their own studio in opposite buildings, with a moon-lite bridge connecting them. As they paint scenes from the film, the video cuts to corresponding clips from the movie. At one point they rise, and gaze out their windows, just like Fievel and Tanya do in the movie. Then Linda and James join each other on the bridge, and sing their hearts out, as the movie mice characters sing and reunite as well.

Theme

The lyrics convey the love felt by two people separated by vast distances, but comforted by the belief that their love will eventually reunite them. In the context of the film, the fictional brother-and-sister characters Fievel and Tanya Mousekewitz sing the song, while the love they share is described as fraternal. However, in the end title pop version of it, the love is described as more romantic.

Awards

At the

30th Grammy Awards The 30th Annual Grammy Awards were held March 2, 1988, at Radio City Music Hall, New York City. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Album of the Year went to U2 for '' The Joshua Tree'', and Song of the Year we ...

, the song won two awards, one for Song of the Year and the other for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television. It also garnered Ronstadt and Ingram a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. It earned nominations for Best Original Song at the 44th Golden Globe Awards and the 59th Academy Awards, but lost both to " Take My Breath Away" from ''

Top Gun ''Top Gun'' is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., and was inspired ...

''. At the Academy Awards ceremony,

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to prominence in the mid-1970s, with the release of her debut ...

performed the song live with Ingram standing in for Ronstadt.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Covers

In early 1987, singer

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, ...

performed, in the words of music critic

Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', "a stunning rendition" of the song at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

for her three-week concert engagement at the historic music venue. The concert was recorded by Telarc Records and released in late 1987. In 2013, during

Julio Iglesias Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (; born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top List of best-selling music artists, reco ...

' concert in Jakarta, Ingram performed the song live with Sherina Munaf.

References

{{Authority control 1986 songs 1986 singles 1980s ballads Linda Ronstadt songs James Ingram songs Songs written by James Horner Songs written by Barry Mann Pop ballads Songs written for animated films Songs with lyrics by Cynthia Weil Love themes An American Tail (franchise) Grammy Award for Song of the Year Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media MCA Records singles Male–female vocal duets Song recordings produced by Peter Asher