Leslie Odom, Jr., is seriously talented
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Odom is also a composer — in fact, he’s is the person who wrote the song “Speak Now” (posted on YouTube) for One Night in Miami. Last year he explained that composing was always part of the plan — that the producers of the movie “were always very interested in whomever was cast as Sam [being] the person that would write the song for the movie. That they would take that experience of Sam and then [write a song]. Because the task was so great, we wrote four different songs” (via Entertainment Weekly).
In a statement quoted by Rolling Stone, Odom cited the work and teachings of both Sam Cooke and Malcolm X as the inspiration for the song. “The movie is so special to me. Sam Cooke is dear to us all. We tried to hide that in the song we wrote. In ‘Speak Now’ we’ve called out to young people. It is an urgent call to action — to speakset alongside our urging them to first listen. Listen… and then speak. We listen for instruction, for inspiration. Malcolm left them for us. Sam left them. So Sam Ashworth and I listened to them all. And then we wrote.”
What You Didn’t Know About Leslie Odom, Jr.
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By Stephanie Kaloi/Jan. 15, 2021 1:09 pm EST
With all the buzz surrounding the star, there’s still a lot about him that many people don’t know. It often surprises fans when they find out that Odom met Miranda back in 2014, when they both starred in a 2014 City Center Encores! production of Tick, Tick… Boom! But when it came time to play Sam Cooke, he admitted to Entertainment Weekly that the producers had to convince him: “They had to chase me a little bit, only because I didn’t see what they saw in myself. I did not see Sam Cooke in me.”
Leslie Odom, Jr., is seriously talented
Odom is also a composer — in fact, he’s is the person who wrote the song “Speak Now” (posted on YouTube) for One Night in Miami. Last year he explained that composing was always part of the plan — that the producers of the movie “were always very interested in whomever was cast as Sam [being] the person that would write the song for the movie. That they would take that experience of Sam and then [write a song]. Because the task was so great, we wrote four different songs” (via Entertainment Weekly).
In a statement quoted by Rolling Stone, Odom cited the work and teachings of both Sam Cooke and Malcolm X as the inspiration for the song. “The movie is so special to me. Sam Cooke is dear to us all. We tried to hide that in the song we wrote. In ‘Speak Now’ we’ve called out to young people. It is an urgent call to action — to speakset alongside our urging them to first listen. Listen… and then speak. We listen for instruction, for inspiration. Malcolm left them for us. Sam left them. So Sam Ashworth and I listened to them all. And then we wrote.”
In a statement quoted by Rolling Stone, Odom cited the work and teachings of both Sam Cooke and Malcolm X as the inspiration for the song. “The movie is so special to me. Sam Cooke is dear to us all. We tried to hide that in the song we wrote. In ‘Speak Now’ we’ve called out to young people. It is an urgent call to action — to speakset alongside our urging them to first listen. Listen… and then speak. We listen for instruction, for inspiration. Malcolm left them for us. Sam left them. So Sam Ashworth and I listened to them all. And then we wrote.”
