In ‘The Six Triple Eight’, H.E.R. Sings “Whitney Level” Song, Says Diane Warren – Sound & Screen Film
H.E.R. sings the song “The Journey” for The Six Triple Eight, Netflix’s Tyler Perry film about the real women who delivered mail in Europe during World War II. Diane Warren wrote the song and says she is still blown away by H.E.R.’s vocals.
“It’s Whitney level,” Warren said during a panel discussion at Deadline’s Sound & Screen Film musical showcase. “I don’t even know if anyone’s ever heard her sing like this.”
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Kerry Washington, Ebony Obsidian, Milauna Jackson and more star as the women of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Batallion, who faced not only wartime turmoil but also discrimination just to do their jobs. Warren said H.E.R. (real name Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson), could relate to the themes of the movie and the song.
“Her journey has been amazing,” Warren said. “We all have our own journey. No journey’s easy. The beautiful thing is it works within the movie beautifully. That’s when the song’s great.”
The recording of “The Journey” was a whirlwind. Warren played the demo for H.E.R. and the singer decided to record it right away.
“When I played her the song, she got very emotional,” Warren said. “We recorded it in my studio literally that day. She sang it, played guitar, piano, went back to New York and did the strings and stuff. I was sitting there, I don’t know if I’ve heard a performance like that. When you see it in a movie too, I saw cynical record company people there at the screenings starting to sob.”
Aaron Zigman composed the instrumental score for Six Triple Eight. He said he incorporated “The Journey” in one pivotal scene he did not wish to spoil because it is late in the film (the Netflix movie premieres on the streamer December 20).
“There’s a scene towards the latter part of the film, very emotional scene, that I quote her stunning theme and kind of half-time it,” Zigman said. “Fairly soon, towards the ending, we hear her song. I help set it up if you will.”
Zigman drew on another key scene for his other musical motifs.
“They’re just getting off the ship,” Zigman said. “I’m sure you hear the stories of how grueling those rides were. They’re expected to march right away. Seeing them all in one unit, one voice so to speak. I wanted to write something that would represent these women as an elegant form. I used an open Americana kind of feel, just an open elegance to celebrate them.”
Check out the panel video above.
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