Alan Menken
On July 26, CBS aired the 47th annual Daytime Emmy Awards (watch here), with some categories announced simultaneously on Twitter. The big news from the ceremony was that composer Alan Menken became the 16th person to join the EGOT club, with his first competitive Emmy win for the original song “Waiting in the Wings” (with lyricist Glenn Slater) from the “Rapunzel and the Great Tree” episode of the Disney series Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure (watch here). In 1990, he had won a special Emmy for the song “Wonderful Ways to Say No” (with Howard Ashman) from the anti-drug special Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue. He won his first two Oscars in 1990 for the score to The Little Mermaid and its song “Under the Sea” (with Ashman), his first two Grammys in 1992 for the recording of The Little Mermaid and its song “Under the Sea,” and his only Tony in 2012 for the score to Newsies (with Jack Feldman).
The other nominees for Outstanding Original Song in a Children’s, Young Adult or Animated Program were: “Gonna Go Good” from Big Hero 6 by Adam Berry, Mark McCorkle, Sharon Flynn, and Bob Schooley (watch here); “Never Leave” from Elena of Avalor by John Kavanaugh, Craig Gerber, and Jeffrey M. Howard (watch here); “As You Move Forward” from The Lion Guard by Beau Black, Ford Riley, and Jennifer Skelly (watch here); and “The Vamp Opera” from Vampirina by Michael Kooman, Christopher Dimond, and Chris Nee (watch here).
The award for Outstanding Original Song went to “The Bad Guys?” from Brainwashed By Toons by Gregory James Jenkins. The other nominees were: “Everything Changed” from The Feels by Sara Ramirez; “North Star” from General Hospital by William Lipton, Nick Gracia, and Rob Marshall (watch here); “A Holiday Carol: The Holidays Are Here” from Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade by Judith Clurman and Wesley Whatley (watch here); and “Hooray Hooray, We’re On Our Way” also from Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade by Bill Sherman, Dominic Fallacaro, Andrew Moriarty, and Wesley Whatley.
The award for Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for a Drama or Digital Drama Series went to Paul Antonelli, Steve Reinhardt, Ken Corday, and D. Brent Nelson for Days of Our Lives. The other nominees were: Carly Van Skaik and Jonathan Hartman for DARK/WEB; Justin Eugene Thomas, Tarasha Riles, and Justin Allen for Pillow Talk; and R.C. Cates, Mike Dobson, Brad Hatfield, Gaye Tolan Hatfield, Rick Krizman, and Gary Kuo for The Young and the Restless.
The award Outstanding Music Direction and Composition went to Vivek Maddala and Steve Morrell for The Tom & Jerry Show. The other nominees were Frederik Wiedmann for The Dragon Prince; Tony Morales for Elena of Avalor; Michael Kramer, Jay Vincent, and Jeppe Riddervold for Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu; and Kevin Kliesch for Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure.