As the years go by and media opportunities expand, the number of people approaching EGOT status (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony) is growing faster and faster. Leslie Odom Jr., Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross could get three-quarters of the way to the grand slam if they win their Emmy nominations this month, and so could composer Ludwig Goransson. He has won three Grammys and an Oscar, so if he wins at the Emmys all he would need is a Tony to wrap it up.
The 36-year-old musician earned half of his EGOT within a few weeks in 2019. First he won three Grammys that January: Record of the Year and Song of the Year as a producer and co-writer of Childish Gambino‘s single “This is America,” and Best Visual Media Score for “Black Panther.” Then in February “Black Panther” won him the Oscar for Best Original Score.
Goransson stayed in the Disney sci-fi family, going from Marvel’s “Black Panther” to the “Star Wars” original series “The Mandalorian,” which did a lot better than we were expecting it to in the Emmy nominations this summer. It earned 15 total noms including Best Drama Series. One of those other bids is Best Music Composition for Goransson for “Chapter 8: Redemption.”
The door is wide open since none of this year’s nominees has won before. “The Mandalorian” is up against “The Crown,” “Euphoria,” “Ozark” and “Succession,” while the two-time reigning champion “Game of Thrones” is off the air. According to the combined predictions of Gold Derby users as of this writing, “Succession” is the front-runner to win after its composer, Nicholas Britell, won for his main title theme music for the show in 2019.
But “The Mandalorian” is a close second in our predictions with 37/10 odds. Among those betting on the Disney+ series to upset are Expert journalists Eric Deggans (NPR) and Shawn Edwards (WDAF-TV Fox). Indeed, “Star Wars” has a storied musical legacy thanks to the iconic compositions by John Williams. Building on that legacy could help any “Star Wars” project stand out in an awards category for music.
Even if Goransson does win the Emmy, though, finishing up his EGOT will be easier said than done. The Tony is one of the hardest to get since there is limited real estate (literally) on Broadway, and of course the COVID-19 pandemic currently makes it impossible to launch a theatrical production. But Goransson is a composer, and all four showbiz awards honor music, so the door is open wider for him than it is for artists in other fields.
And who knows, since Disney+ recently aired the Tony-winning “Hamilton” production, perhaps they’ll go the other way and eventually bring “The Mandalorian” to the stage. After all, the title character is already wearing a mask.
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