The Grammys are certainly one of the most important awards in the music world and, for the first time, video game soundtracks were also honored. Basically, a freshman secured the win.
It was Grammy time again and a number of musicians and composers were able to secure the prestigious award, including Beyoncé (for the 32nd time), Harry Styles and Lizzo. There was also a whole new category this year, called “Best Composed Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media,” which won a Grammy for the first time ever.
The award went to a Ubisoft title, or more specifically to composer Stephanie Economou for her soundtrack to Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla – Dawn of Ragnarök. The soundtrack of the third major Valhalla expansion had to assert itself against tough competition. Also nominated were Austin Wintory’s Aliens: Fireteam Elite, Bear McCreary’s Call of Duty: Vanguard, Richard Jacques’ Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, and Christopher Tin’s Old World.
Quite a surprise, and not just because Christopher Tin has already surpassed a Grammy veteran – Tin had already snagged an award for the play Baba Yetu from Civilization 4. Stephanie Economou is fairly new to the video game industry, her soundtracks for the Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla DLCs The Siege of Paris and Dawn of Ragnarok being her first forays into the world of video game composition.
Economou was correspondingly happy in an interview with Billboard: “I was very happy about it, but I’m really – as people in our video game community would say – a noob when it comes to video game soundtracks. It’s hard to be nominated against these literal giants of video game music. I’m so honored to be in their company, but there’s also a bit of a question about whether I belong here. I think most artists feel that way to some degree, but I’m really honored and very proud of the music.”
If you don’t have the soundtrack in the back of your mind, you can find it on the Ubisoft Music channel on YouTube:
