Seems that "The Climb," from the Hannah Montana movie soundtrack, had been nominated for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture. One day later the nomination got pulled because, strictly speaking, the song hadn't actually been written for the movie.
The sequence of events makes the decision seem pretty straightforward. Jessi Alexander and John Mabe cowrote the song. Alexander, who's under contract for Disney, submitted it to Disney for general consideration. The director of Hannah Montana: The Movie wanted to use it.
Here, in the words of Alexander, is where it gets fuzzy.
We started a song. It was actually called “It’s the Climb,” and it was a more spiritual song, sung in third person. And it was really about my woes, and Jon’s woes in the music business ... [Peter Chelsom] called back within weeks and said the song was gonna be an integral part of the movie, and the only thing he needed was for me to change what I would consider to be a substantial amount of the song.Full interview at Entertainment Weekly
They made their substantial revisions, changing third-person perspective to first-person and downplaying the spiritual elements. If they didn't write the song with Hannah Montana in mind, they certainly rewrote it with Hannah Montana in mind.
The interesting takeaway question for those who care deeply about the Grammies is, where should these guys draw the line when vetting music for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture? Does every aspect of creation have to occur with the knowledge that it will be used for the film, or can, say, the melody come beforehand?
The interesting question for me is, how do songwriters do this kind of work without going insane?
I can handle criticism. I can handle hearing that this line or that break isn't good enough. But rewriting autobiographical lyrics so they're perfect for somebody who isn't old enough to drink?
Let's just say I'm not sure I would cope with as much grace as Alexander and Mabe.
