By Alex Sprouls ’19 and Camryn Ragland ’18
After an accomplished year of Oscar and Tony wins for Staples alum Justin Paul, he and his artistic partner, Benj Pasek, kicked off 2018 by winning the Golden Globe for best original song for “This is Me” in “The Greatest Showman” which was nominated for three awards.
“I loved ‘The Greatest Showman’ and all of the music in it. I listen to the soundtrack all the time and just can’t get the songs out of my head,” Marlo Von der Ahe ’20 said.
“The Greatest Showman” is currently number one on Billboard’s main albums chart, with its most popular songs being ‘This is Me”, “Rewrite the Stars” and “Never Enough.”
In an interview with Deadline, Paul said that the group aimed to create “contemporary-sounding music that still told a story.”
Last year, Pasek and Paul won both a Golden Globe and an Oscar for the song, “City of Stars”, from the film “La La Land.” They also received a Tony for best original score in the Broadway hit “Dear Evan Hansen.”
It is possible that there are more awards in their future with 2018 Oscar nominations being released on Jan. 23.
“I think it’s really cool to see someone from Staples receiving so many awards, and I’ve heard so many people talking about their work, and it makes me want to listen to their music,” Teddy O’Kane ’20 said.
They are on their way to becoming the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony (EGOT) winners as they have already received an Oscar and a Tony, they have a Grammy nomination and are on the ballot for an Emmy.
“I’m definitely going to watch ‘The Greatest Showman’ again with some of my other friends soon so I can try to get them as into the music as I am,” Isabel Handa ’19 said.
Pasek and Paul both graduated from the University of Michigan. Pasek often writes the lyrics with Paul writing the music, but the two share credit for the songwriting they do.
“I’ve listened to and seen a lot of their work and I just can’t get enough. All their music has catchy tunes and lyrics,” Abby Greenblatt ’18 said.
The dynamic duo has been gaining lots of popularity over the past year.
“I can’t wait to see what Paul does next, everything he’s done so far has been extraordinary,” Joe Xiang ’19 said.
