In December 2018, news broke that Sade Adu had earned a remarkable nod in the cinema‑music world: her song “The Big Unknown” was selected for the 2019 Oscars’ “Best Original Song” shortlist) For a singer whose output has often come in trickles punctuated by long silences, this recognition carried weight—not just as a sign of respect from the film / award establishment, but also as a testament to the enduring power of her artistry, even in periods of seeming quiet. To understand the import of this moment, one must look at both the circumstances surrounding the song, her musical history, and the broader Oscar process for original songs.
Sade’s path to the shortlist was paved by her return to film music after a period of relative inactivity. Earlier in 2018 she released “Flower of the Universe”, recorded for Disney’s A Wrinkle in Time, marking her first new song in seven years.Later that year she contributed “The Big Unknown” to Widows, a film directed by Steve McQueen, and it was that track which made the Oscar shortlist.The fact that “The Big Unknown” emerged after a long stretch of limited musical output made its inclusion in that shortlist all the more meaningful. For fans of Sade, whose output had slowed and whose public appearances had become rare, it was a signal that her voice still resonated in the highest spheres of artistic recognition.
The process of producing “The Big Unknown” also underscores her hands‑on involvement. The track was produced by Aaron Taylor Dean, Ben Travers, and Sade herself. (Punch News) In that collaborative role, she was not merely lending her vocal presence, but shaping the musical and emotional contours of the piece—ensuring it aligned with her aesthetic sensibilities. The song is often described as soulful, emotionally intense, and attuned to the internal tempo of the film—qualities that perhaps made it a strong candidate for the Oscars’ shortlist. (Punch News)
Oscar shortlists for original songs can be a tricky terrain. The Academy’s rules require that a submitted song be original—lyrics and music both written specifically for the motion picture—and that it be used in the body of the film or as the first cue in the end credits. (Wikipedia) The shortlist is a preliminary filtering: from all submitted eligible songs, a smaller group (often around 15) is chosen; those are then further narrowed to the final nominees. (The FADER) In 2019, that shortlist included many major artists and songs, making Sade’s presence especially notable. (The FADER) Among the names that shared the shortlist alongside her were Kendrick Lamar & SZA (“All The Stars”), Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper (“Shallow”), Thom Yorke (“Suspirium”), Sampha (“Treasure”), Dolly Parton, Jennifer Hudson, and others. (The FADER) Her song, then, was ranked in the company of music from blockbuster films, major studios, and contemporary chart acts.
To appreciate what this meant for Sade and for observers, one must situate it in the arc of her career. Since her rise in the 1980s and the seminal release of Diamond Life (1984), Sade has always been something of an enigma: commercially successful, critically adored, and yet reticent about publicity. Her releases have often come in fits and starts, and she has maintained a degree of mystique. Her Grammy history (she has won multiple Grammys over her career) attests to the fact that her peers respect her. (Connect Nigeria) To see a new song of hers gain recognition in the Oscars context after years of musical quietude is akin to a long dormant volcano sparking into sudden activity. It galvanizes the sense among fans and critics alike that she remains alive artistically, that her interpretative voice continues to matter.
The timing also reflects larger currents in how film and music intersect. In recent decades, film soundtracks have become more prominent vectors for artists to re-engage audiences, especially for artists who might stretch out their release timelines. For Sade, offering music to films provided an opportunity to reinsert herself into public awareness without committing to a full album cycle. Indeed, “Flower of the Universe” and “The Big Unknown” function as discrete but powerful statements. The latter, by being shortlisted, confirms that her occasional infusions into film music can still demand high-level recognition. It is a pathway not of commercial floodgates, but of selective, high-impact presence.
From the film side, Widows offered thematic and emotional terrain that matched her strengths: subtlety, internalized feeling, a kind of restraint. The song had to fit into that world, not overpower it. The coupling of her voice with cinematic narrative suggests alignment, not acrimony. The fact that the Academy recognized it indicates that, in the judgment of the music and film community, it held both artistic and technical validity.
Of course, being shortlisted is not the same as being nominated, and not the same as winning. When the final nominations were announced in January 2019, Sade’s “The Big Unknown” did not make the final cut as one of the five. (Pitchfork) The final nominations included “All The Stars,” “Shallow,” “The Place Where Lost Things Go,” “I’ll Fight,” and “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings.” (Pitchfork) The eventual Oscar winner was “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. (Pitchfork) Some commentary at the time noted, with surprise, that while the shortlist featured heavyweights like Sade, Sampha, Thom Yorke, they were among those omitted in the final slate of nominees. (Pitchfork) The shortlist itself was historic: it was the first time since 1979 that the Academy publicly released shortlists for Best Original Song ahead of nominations. (Pitchfork) That structural shift in the Academy’s transparency also elevated the symbolic value of being shortlisted in 2019. Sade’s inclusion in that publicly visible shortlist thus took on extra resonance.
That she could be in such company—of contemporary chart makers, of cinematic composers, of major acting stars who also wrote music—speaks to her enduring cultural currency. For many observers in Nigeria, the U.K., and beyond, the news of her inclusion was met with pride, affirming that her influence crosses national and generational boundaries. Nigerian media especially treated it as significant: outlets like Punch, Vanguard, The Cable, and others reported it with a mix of surprise, admiration, and celebration. (Punch News) For Sade herself, it was a moment of recognition not just from fans but from an institution of global prestige.
Beyond the immediate, this moment invites reflection on how mature artists sustain relevance. In an era of streaming, viral hits, social media metrics, the bar for visibility has shifted. But for an artist whose core currency lies in tone, mood, intimacy, and restraint, moments like the Oscar shortlist offer alternative axes of value. They affirm that artistry need not be loud to be heard. The shortlist nod says: your voice still matters. It says: your craft is recognized even beyond the usual fan circuits. It says: your work intersects with cinema and narrative, not just the music charts.
Moreover, the emotional weight of the song itself—its melody, lyric, production—becomes a kind of proxy for the artist’s sustained vitality. When someone hears that “The Big Unknown” qualified for consideration, they may listen to it anew, hear its subtleties, be reminded of what makes Sade distinctive: the space she leaves between notes, the way she shapes a phrase, the texture of her timbre. And for younger listeners who may have discovered her via streaming or sampling, it becomes a fresh gateway into her catalog.
In retrospect, the shortlist moment stands as a beacon in Sade’s late‑career timeline. It is not merely a footnote but a statement: that even after years of silence or minimal output, she retains the capacity to surprise, to engage, and to be judged among her peers in the highest artistic arenas. It is a reaffirmation that artistry measured in patience and subtlety still commands attention. And for lovers of music, it is a reminder that great voices do not fade; they periodically reemerge, more quietly, but with undiminished power.
If you like, I can expand parts of this—say, go deeper into the song’s musical structure or compare it with her previous soundtrack work—or I can format it more narratively. Do you want me to refine or restructure it?
