Photo of Leon Bridges by Mike Coppola/Getty
As Oscar season approaches, newcomer Leon Bridges has confirmed he is contributing an original track "So Long" to the upcoming football biopic Concussion, starring Will Smith.
The film, which is due out on Dec. 25, stars Smith as Dr. Bennet Omalu, a forensic pathologist who went up against the NFL after discovering a connection between head trauma from football injuries and degenerative brain disease.
“I’m so glad to have Leon’s music in the movie,” director Peter Landesman said in a statement. “His songs are a shot straight from the heart, full of feeling and emotion, power and heartbreak. And it’s a perfect match for the movie, because I could describe Dr. Bennet Omalu the same way — in the movie, he’s a spiritual person, standing up on his own against a world of powerful forces, using only his smarts, his courage and the knowledge that he’s right.”
Bridges joins an impressive roster of artists who have contributed to films eligible for next year's Academy Awards, including Lady Gaga, Sam Smith, Miley Cyrus, Alicia Keys and Wiz Khalifa.