The most talked about song at the Sundance Film festival is one that very few people have heard: Lady Gaga's "Til It Happens To You" from The Hunting Ground.
Diane Warren, Oscar-nominated this year for "Grateful" from Beyond the Lights, wrote "Til It Happens To You" after being shown scenes almost a year ago. She took the song to Gaga - sharing a writing credit with Warren - who quickly recorded it.
I heard about [the film] and it just really touched me, and she had stuff in her life that she could relate to. Gaga is one of the most talented artists I have worked with in my life and I'm excited about doing more with her.
There are a lot of levels to the song. There's something very vulnerable about it and something very defiant about it, especially the way [Gaga] sings it. The first verse is vulnerable - 'You tell me its going to get better?' - and the second verse comes in and it builds. Really? It gets better? No. You don't know until it happens to you.
I think this song in particular can relate to anything you want, anything in your life, It could be a breakup, somebody passing away - anything where there is loss and someone says to you it's going to be all right, it just takes time, but you're sitting there dying. It's such a universal song.
The song appears in the body of the film to underscore the pain of a survivor of sexual assault. Another version closes the film, which will be released March 20 and air later this year on CNN.
