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The Moon Song

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This article is about the song from the 2013 film Her. For other uses, see Moon Song.
"The Moon Song"
Single artwork featuring a smiling man cradling the side of his face with his hand.
Single by Karen O and various artists
ReleasedFebruary 11, 2014
LabelWaterTower
Songwriters
Producers
  • Karen O
  • Spike Jonze

"The Moon Song" is a song by American singer and songwriter Karen O from the 2013 film Her. Written and produced by Karen O and the film's director, Spike Jonze, it was released in February 2014 by WaterTower. The song was originally recorded as a solo rendition by Karen O, while a duet performed by actors Scarlett Johansson and Joaquin Phoenix appears in the film. A studio duet by Karen O and musician Ezra Koenig was also released.

"The Moon Song" earned positive reviews and nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Song and the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media. Commercially, it appeared on five charts across three countries.

Background and recording

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Singer and songwriter Karen O, frontwoman of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, first worked with filmmaker Spike Jonze in 2004 with the music video for "Y Control", leading to numerous collaborations between the two. This included co-writing and performing on the soundtrack for Where the Wild Things Are in 2009.[1] According to the pair, "The Moon Song" was 10 years in the making.[2]

"The Moon Song" was first recorded and produced in Karen O's home as a solo rendition.[2] Actors Scarlett Johansson and Joaquin Phoenix, who star in Her, next recorded a duet specifically for use in the film.[3] Finally, Karen O recorded a studio version with musician Ezra Koenig, frontman of Vampire Weekend, who she said "slipped into character like a champ and damn he's got the goods."[4] Of the three recordings, Karen O thought her studio duet with Koenig fulfilled "a wish of my die-hard romantic junior high self".[4]

Music and lyrics

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According to sheet music published by BMG Rights Management, "The Moon Song" is composed in the key of C major with a tempo of 96 beats per minute.[5] The song is characterized by acoustic guitars, no percussion, and minimal production.[6] Its lyrics, co-written by Karen O and Jonze, are about an expression of love between Her characters Theodore and Samantha.[4][7] She explains:

Spike wanted an intimate love song that conveyed what it feels like when you are falling in love, the lyric 'a million miles away' is meant to signify the feeling of being the only two people in the universe a million miles away from your life as you know it. 'A million miles away' also signifies the inherent unrequited nature of Theodore and Samantha's relationship.[8]

Release and reception

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On August 10, 2013, Karen O's first recording of "The Moon Song" was used in a promotional trailer for Her.[9] On August 29, the song was released on SoundCloud in a limited capacity, allowing 10,000 downloads before its removal from the platform.[10] On February 11, 2014, all three renditions were released for streaming only by WaterTower Music.[7] Karen O and Koenig notably performed the song at the 86th Academy Awards, which took place on March 2, 2014.[11][12]

"The Moon Song" was positively received by critics, with Melissa G. Muller of Rolling Stone calling it "dreamy" and Paul MacInnes of The Guardian praising Karen O's vocal abilities.[4][13] It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song,[2] the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media,[14] and the World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Song Written Directly for a Film.[15] In the United States, the song appeared on the Alternative Digital Song Sales Chart at number 15 and the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs Chart at number 27.[16] Internationally, it reached number 13 on the UK Independent Singles Breakers Chart,[17] number 34 on the Mexico Ingles Airplay chart,[16] and number 194 in France.[18]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Karen O and Spike Jonze.

Digital download[7]
No.TitlePerformersLength
1."The Moon Song" (Studio Version Duet)
3:05
2."The Moon Song" (End Title Credit)Karen O2:26
3."The Moon Song" (Film Version)
1:50

Charts

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Chart performance for "The Moon Song"
Chart (2014) Peak
position
France (SNEP)[18] 194
Mexico Ingles Airplay (Billboard)[16] 34
UK Independent Singles Breakers (OCC)[17] 13
US Alternative Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[16] 15
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[16] 27

References

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  1. ^ Hill, Logan (October 9, 2009). "Wild thang: Karen O". New York. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  2. ^ a b c Ayers, Mike (January 16, 2014). "Karen O on Oscar nom: 'Holy Smokes!'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 11, 2026. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  3. ^ Davis, Edward (December 12, 2013). "Soundtrack to Spike Jonze's 'Her' features the Breeders, Arcade Fire, Karen O, plus Scarlett Johansson & Joaquin Phoenix duet". IndieWire. Archived from the original on December 28, 2023. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  4. ^ a b c d Muller, Marissa G. (February 10, 2014). "Hear Karen O and Ezra Koenig's 'The Moon Song'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 16, 2026. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  5. ^ Karen, Orzolek; Jonze, Spike (February 7, 2014). "The Moon Song". Musicnotes.com. BMG Rights Management. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  6. ^ Ng, Philiana (February 11, 2014). "Karen O & Spike Jonze's Oscar-nominated 'Moon Song': 'Her' track spotlighted in new featurette". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 1, 2025. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  7. ^ a b c "The Moon Song (Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture Her) - Single". Apple Music (US). February 11, 2014. Archived from the original on February 21, 2026. Retrieved June 7, 2026.
  8. ^ Gallo, Phil (February 26, 2014). "The big battle of Best Song Oscar: "The Moon Song" Karen O & Spike Jonze from 'Her'". Billboard. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  9. ^ Minsker, Evan (August 10, 2013). "Karen O also has a song in Spike Jonze's film Her". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on March 9, 2026. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  10. ^ Minsker, Evan (August 29, 2013). "Listen: Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O: "The Moon Song" from Spike Jonze's film Her". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on January 23, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  11. ^ Stubbs, Dan (March 3, 2014). "Karen O and Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig perform 'The Moon Song' at Academy Awards". NME. Archived from the original on August 25, 2019. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  12. ^ Ng, Philiana (March 2, 2014). "Oscars: Karen O performs ethereal 'Moon Song' with Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 23, 2025. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  13. ^ MacInnes, Paul (September 4, 2014). "Karen O: Crush Songs review – low-fi sketches on love and loneliness". The Guardian. Archived from the original on August 4, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  14. ^ "Grammys 2015: Complete list of winners and nominees". Los Angeles Times. February 8, 2015. Archived from the original on February 26, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  15. ^ "Winners & nominees". World Soundtrack Awards. Archived from the original on April 17, 2026. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  16. ^ a b c d e "Karen O chart history". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 26, 2025. Retrieved June 7, 2026.
  17. ^ a b "The Moon Song – Karen O & Ezra Koenig". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on August 31, 2025. Retrieved June 7, 2026.
  18. ^ a b "Karen O feat. Ezra Koenig – The Moon Song". SNEP. Archived from the original on June 9, 2023. Retrieved June 7, 2026.
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