Suddenly

This song was written especially for the film adaptation of Les Miserables by the composers of the original stage musical, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil and Herbert Kretzmer. The movie tells the tale of Jean Valjean, played by Australian actor Hugh Jackman. After spending 19 years in prison for stealing bread, he is freed but breaks his parole and is pursued relentlessly by police Inspector Javert. "Suddenly" is sung during a key moment in the story when Valjean rescues the young Cosette from the inn and adopts her, representing the first time that the downtrodden Frenchman experiences real love. Though Victor Hugo spent much time explaining this change in Valjean in his original story, it was glossed over very quickly in the stage musical. That presented a problem for director Tom Hooper - Hugh Jackman explained: "For the first time in this fifty-one year old man's life, he experiences love. Tom said 'this is one of the most incredible, dramatic moments ever written about... and we don't have a song for that?'"

The Les Miserables soundtrack topped the US album chart. It was the first #1 for former 30 Odd Foot Of Grunt and The Ordinary Fear of God frontman Russell Crowe, who played Inspector Javert in the movie.