Elton John and Brandi Carlile‘s duet “Never Too Late,” from Elton’s Disney+ documentary of the same name, is Oscar-nominated for best original song. It was co-written by Elton, Bernie Taupin, Brandi and producer Andrew Watt, and as Watt tells ABC Audio, it was no small thing for Brandi to join Elton and Bernie’s 55-year songwriting partnership.
According to Watt, the fact that Brandi, Elton and Bernie were already good friends was the key. “There was a familiarity there and a respect that was enticing for everyone,” he says. “Like, ‘Okay, let’s see what happens when we let Brandi enter, like, the mysterious thing of putting the pages in front of Elton.'”
Brandi wrote her lyrics to the song after seeing a rough cut of the documentary, and they inspired Elton to change the title of the film. Watt was there when Elton first saw Brandi’s lyrics, and says it was amazing to watch him work.
“He takes the lyrics and he reads them and he sees some kind of a movie scene in his head,” Watt explains. “And then he kind of scores the scene and starts singing along with whatever key words jump out at him … and he did that in the moment, live, to the stuff that Brandi wrote.”
Watt confirms that “Never Too Late” was the catalyst that led to Elton and Brandi doing a joint album, Who Believes In Angels?, due April 2. “It’s was just kind of like, ‘Let’s keep this thing rolling,'” he notes.
While Elton already has two best original song Oscars, this is Watt’s first nomination, and he tells ABC Audio that it’s “just beyond my wildest dreams.”
He adds, “The process of making that song was so special and so real and raw, to see it recognized by the Academy is the most meaningful and amazing thing to me.”
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