In the penultimate episode of “Ted Lasso” season 3, “Mom City” features Sam Ryder’s song “Fought & Lost” co-written with Tom Howe, Jamie Hartman and Ryder.
Playing toward the end of the episode, the song acts as a bridge as Ted (Jason Sudeikis) as he has a heartfelt confrontation with his mother Dottie (Becky Ann Baker). The next day, he’s in his office to reveal a “truth bomb” to Rebecca, but the end credits roll before audiences get an answer.
Ryder performed the piece in front of an audience at the Grammy Museum in Downtown Los Angeles at a special event with the show’s star Hannah Waddingham joining him.
Of the show’s music overall, music supervisor Tony Von Pervieux says, ““Because you got to sell a song. There are a lot of times that a song works for the scene, but maybe someone doesn’t put it in correctly, right? And the great thing about in this show, is the way the songs were used was super effective, money well spent.”
But the Eurovision star’s ballad fits in seamlessly.
This was a song about bouncing back from a defeat and continuing to fight. He sings, “We wanted it so bad, gave it all we had. Oh, but wanting it doesn’t always make it yours. This time was ours to lose. But fortune favors to those who ride the storm and make it through.”
Says Ryder, “You know that feeling where there’s something else at play? You’re very lucky if you tap into it in that moment. The final vocal was like a patchwork quilt, done in many different studios.” He continues, “I think for me, to keep things fresh, it comes back to gratitude and reminding yourself how fortunate you are. If your spark is music, you’ve hit the jackpot.”
When it was brought to Sudeikis, he loved it right away.
Von Pervieux says, “My job is to go after these songs. Ideally what I’m doing is reading through the script, making sure those songs are clearable, and if there’s any issue I bring it up and pitch other ideas. We wanted to create a score that really enhances and brings emotion from your audience. So the first version I got was a super rough demo. The second version I got was this beautiful body of work. When you hear Sam on it, and it was like insane. Oh my God, this is like, these guys hit it out of the park.”
Composer Tom Howe, who wove his score in between the music, says, he found the score relatively easier as the seasons went on. “You’ve got lots of thematic material built up over the last two seasons. It’s easier when you’ve been on a show for a long time. After you’ve gone through one season, two seasons, and you’re on the third season, there’s a familiarity and level of trust.”
Watch the performance above.
