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You might not immediately know Kotechas name, but you definitely know his work.
1 single Cant Feel My Face), and has had a long working relationship withAriana Grande.
Congratulations!Thank you so much.
How are you feeling today?Im, uh, Im a little speechless.
To be honest with you, its kind of wild.
I cant really believe it, actually.
Well, you were up for a Grammy last night.
Were you up late for that?Yeah, luckily it wasnt too late my time.
But when that didnt happen, it was like,Oh, okay.
But Im still honored.
Its just such a shock.
I mean, for me, the Oscar is like the holy grail of awards shows.
Im just so elated.
Im just so glad that people connected with the song in the movie, and Im so grateful.
That seems to be what Im doing more of now than the pop-star thing.
I find it so fun to do that.
So I just ran and started banging on the door.
It was like, Wheres the fire!?
But they were saying it in Swedish.
And then he came out, and he was like, What?
And I was like, You got an Oscar nomination!
Was that with [co-songwriters] Fat Max Gsus or Rickard Goransson?Fat Max.
So were all scattered.
One American and two Swedes, and the Americans in Sweden, but yeah it was wild.
And then I had to just go pick up my kids from school.
Its one of the coolest ways to pick up kids from school.
A 5-year-old and a 7-year-old.
So its probably not the same, though, in L.A.
Here, its like Sweden, nobody cares.
My kid was like, I got on student council today.
And that was like the big win.
He didnt really care about the Oscars.
Youve been nominated for a Grammy and a Golden Globe.
Did this feel different?Yeah, this is I mean, I remember the Golden Globe.
So I could never, like, have girls call my house or anything like that.
Thats how I started writing songs.
I would do the same with film.
Always, like, especially sappy movies.
And it was, like, how I used to write songs.
And then I got lucky and started writing for all these big pop stars and from their experiences.
I had that in my own we moved to Sweden almost for the same reason.
My wife is Swedish.
And it was, you know, I dont care about this fancy L.A. life with all these stars.
I just want you and our family.
You know,I wanna come back to my hometown you know, that kind of stuff.
It really just felt like its such a relatable topic.
Even when it was Cant Feel My Face or something like that, or those kind of big hits.
And I started feeling.
I was like,Oh, this is something special.
Youre great at writing these big, like, bombastic tracks that are also so heartfelt.
How do you make that work and resonate with people?
How do you balance that emotional resonance with this big sound?I think its always melody first.
Im also around some of the most talented collaborators on the planet.
So we always confirm that thats the priority.
You should feel something by the melody, if you get the melody to that place.
And then you, on top of that, you get the lyrics right.
Its just like lightning in a bottle, and you just roll up your sleeves.
Job well done, because Ive cried over this song many times, and part of its in Icelandic.
And he does it softly.
Because his character doesnt want to overshadow hes been overshadowing her for their whole relationship.
And this was her moment, you know, and he was there just for support.
So I think his part in the song had to represent that.
And thats part of his character, where his character lands.
You said youre working on another musical film now.
Can you share with us what it is?I cant, unfortunately.
I wish I could.
I think Id be in a lot of trouble.
Have you ever thought of writing a theatrical musical?
Like, musical theater jot down of stuff?I have.
I have to come up with the idea.
But eventually thats one of the goals for me, absolutely.
Oh, thats so exciting.
Im going to look forward to that.
Also, did you see the DIY Oscar campaign that the town Husavik put together?Oh my gosh.
It was sent to me by I think it was David Dobkin.
I actually got in touch with the guy the other day.
I mean, its incredible.
Its a small town.
And he was like, This song has meant everything.
And, you know, Im crying as I write this.
Its meant the world to this town, and youve made us so proud.
And I cant wait until COVIDs done so we can go visit.
I told my wife and kids thats like the first thing we have to do.
We have to go to Husavik.
I mean, I think they created a Jaja Ding Dong bar.
So theres actually a bar based off of the song.
Its been a really special thing to be a part of.
And now theres an Oscar nomination, so thats kind of life-changing.
Are you going to Zoom in for the Oscars?
I assume people arent traveling, right?Yeah.
I think Im going to have to.
Well see, its gonna be the middle of the night here.
I would have loved to go and take my wife.
It would have been amazing, but lets see what happens.
You guys can get all dolled up and be comfy at home.
Thats kind of nice, right?Yeah.
But yeah, Ill definitely confirm.
Yeah, maybe the day after.
I mean, its a good excuse.
I think the Oscars are a good excuse to maybe miss one day.
