Here’s how this works: every day leading up to the Oscars, I break down each of the 24 categories. The goal is to both familiarize everyone with the category itself (how it works, what its history is and how you go about figuring out what’s gonna win) while also making it easier to reference when I write my giant article with picks and everything. A lot of the leg work is already here. But really, the goal is to see if there’s anything to look for leading into Oscar night that could be a shortcut to me picking the category.
What we do is — I give you all the winners of the category throughout history, go over all the recent trends if there are any, discuss the precursors and whether or not they matter, and then we talk about this year’s category and how we got to it, and then just look at where we are and rank the nominees in terms of their likelihood of winning (at the current moment in time. Of course, things can and will change going into the ceremony). It’s all pretty simple. I’ve done this every year. Everyone should know the drill.
Today is Best Original Song, and a category that really turned itself around after it bottomed out in 2011. Unfortunately, original songs in film are not always very strong, and this year in particular brought us a particularly weak crop, of which they left off probably the best song that was written all year. So we’ve got a pretty ho hum category and… honestly do you care? Let’s just get into it.
| Year | Best Original Song Winners | Other Nominees |
| 1934 | “The Contnental,” The Gay Divorcee | “Carioca,” Flying Down to Rio
“Love in Bloom,” She Loves Me Not |
| 1935 | “Lullaby of Broadway,” Gold Diggers of 1935 | “Lovely to Look at,” Roberta
“Cheek to Cheek,” Top Hat |
| 1936 | “The Way You Look Tonight,” Swing Time | “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” Born to Dance
“Pennies from Heaven,” Pennies from Heaven “When Did You Leave Heaven,” Sing, Baby, Sing “Did I Remember,” Suzy “A Melody from the Sky,” The Trail of the Lonesome Pine |
| 1937 | “Sweet Leilani,” Waikiki Wedding | “Whispers in the Dark,” Artists and Models
“Remember Me,” Mr. Dodd Takes the Air “They Can’t Take That Away from Me,”Shall We Dance “That Old Feeling,” Vogues of 1938 |
| 1938 | “Thanks for the Memory,” The Big Broadcast of 1938 | “Always and Always,” Mannequin
“Change Partners,” Carefree “The Cowboy and the Lady,” The Cowboy and the Lady “Dust,” Under Western Stars “Jeepers Creepers,” Going Places “Merrily We Live,” Merrily We Live “A Mist over the Moon,” The Lady Objects “My Own,” That Certain Age “Now It Can Be Told,” Alexander’s Ragtime Band |
| 1939 | “Over the Rainbow,” The Wizard of Oz | “Faithful Forever,” Gulliver’s Travels
“I Poured My Heart into a Song,” Second Fiddle “Wishing,” Love Affair |
| 1940 | “When You Wish Upon a Star,” Pinocchio | “Down Argentine Way,” Down Argentine Way
“I’d Know You Anywhere,” You’ll Find Out “It’s a Blue World,” Music in My Heart “Love of My Life,” Second Chorus “Only Forever,” Rhythm on the River “Our Love Affair,” Strike Up the Band “Waltzing in the Clouds,” Spring Parade “Who Am I?,” Hit Parade of 1941 |
| 1941 | “The Last Time I Saw Paris,” Lady Be Good | “Baby Mine,” Dumbo
“Be Honest With Me,” Ridin’ on the Rainbow “Blues in the Night,” Blues in the Night “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B,”Buck Privates “Chattanooga Choo Choo” Sun Valley Serenade “Dolores,” Las Vegas Nights “Out of the Silence,” All-American Co-Ed “Since I Kissed My Baby Goodbye,” You’ll Never Get Rich |
| 1942 | “White Christmas,” Holiday Inn | “Always in My Heart,” Always in My Heart
“Dearly Beloved,” You Were Never Lovelier “How About You?”, Babes on Broadway “I’ve Heard That Song Before,” Youth on Parade “I’ve Got a Gal in Kalamazoo,” Orchestra Wives “Love Is a Song,” Bambi “Pennies for Peppino,” Flying with Music “Pig Foot Pete,” Hellzapoppin’ “There’s a Breeze on Lake Louise,” The Mayor of 44th Street |
| 1943 | “You’ll Never Know,” Hello, Frisco, Hello | “Change of Heart,” Hit Parade of 1943
“Happiness is a Thing Called Joe,” Cabin in the Sky “My Shining Hour,” The Sky’s the Limit “Saludos Amigos,” Saludos Amigos “Say a Prayer for the Boys Over There,”Hers to Hold “That Old Black Magic,” Star Spangled Rhythm “They’re Either Too Young or too Old,”Thank Your Lucky Stars “We Mustn’t Say Good Bye,” Stage Door Canteen “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To,”Something to Shout About |
| 1944 | “Swinging on a Star,” Going My Way | “I Couldn’t Sleep a Wink Last Night,”Higher and Higher
“I’ll Walk Alone,” Follow the Boys “I’m Making Believe,” Sweet and Low-Down “Long Ago (and Far Away),” Cover Girl “Now I Know,” Up in Arms “Remember Me to Carolina,” Minstrel Man “Rio de Janeiro,” Brazil “Silver Shadows and Golden Dreams,” Lady, Let’s Dance “Too Much in Love,” Song of the Open Road “The Trolley Song,” Meet Me in St. Louis |
| 1945 | “It Might as Well Be Spring,” State Fair | “Accentuate the Positive,” Here Come the Waves
“Anywhere,” Tonight and Any Night “The Cat and the Canary,” Why Girls Leave Home “Endlessly,” Earl Carroll Vanities “I Fall In Love Too Easily,” Anchors Aweigh “I’ll Buy That Dream,” Sing Your Way Home “Linda,” The Story of G.I. Joe “Love Letters,” Love Letters “More and More,” Can’t Help Singing “Sleighride in July,” Belle of the Yukon “So in Love,” Wonder Man “Some Sunday Morning,” San Antonio |
| 1946 | “On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe,”The Harvey Girls | “All Through the Day,” Centennial Summer
“I Can’t Begin to Tell You,” The Dolly Sisters “Ole Buttermilk Sky,” Canyon Passage “You Keep Coming Back Like a Song,” Blue Skies |
| 1947 | “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah,” Song of the South | “A Gal in Calico,” The Time, the Place and the Girl
“I Wish I Didn’t Love You So,” The Perils of Pauline “Pass That Peace Pipe,” Good News “You Do,” Mother Wore Tights |
| 1948 | “Buttons and Bows,” The Paleface | “For Every Man There’s a Woman,” Casbah
“It’s Magic,” Romance on the High Seas “This Is the Moment,” That Lady in Ermine “The Woody Woodpecker Song,” Wet Blanket Policy |
| 1949 | “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” Neptune’s Daughter | “It’s a Great Feeling,” It’s a Great Feeling
“Lavender Blue,” So Dear to My Heart “My Foolish Heart,” My Foolish Heart “Through a Long and Sleepless Night,”Come to the Stable |
| 1950 | “Mona Lisa,” Captain Carey, U.S.A. | “Be My Love,” The Toast of New Orleans
“Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo,” Cinderella “Mule Train,” Singing Guns “Wilhelmina,” Wabash Avenue |
| 1951 | “In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening,”Here Comes the Groom | “Never,” Golden Girl
“Wonder Why,” Rich, Young and Pretty “Too Late Now,” Royal Wedding “A Kiss to Build a Dream On,” The Strip |
| 1952 | “High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin’), High Noon | “Am I in Love,” Son of Paleface
“Because You’re Mine,” Because You’re Mine “Thumbelina,” Hans Christian Andersen “Zing a Little Zong,” Just for You |
| 1953 | “Secret Love,” Calamity Jane | “The Moon is Blue,” The Moon is Blue
“My Flaming Heart,” Small Town Girl “Sadie Thompson’s Song (Blue Pacific Blues),” Miss Sadie Thompson “That’s Amore,” The Caddy |
| 1954 | “Three Coins in the Fountain,” Three Coins in the Fountain | “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep,”White Christmas
“The High and the Mighty,” The High and the Mighty “Holy My Hand,” Susan Slept Here “The Man that Got Away, “A Star is Born” |
| 1955 | “Love is a Many Splendored Thing,” Love is a Many-Splendored Thing | “I’ll Never Stop Loving You, Love Me or Leave Me
“Something’s Gotta Give,” Daddy Long Legs “(Love Is) The Tender Trap,” The Tender Trap “Unchained Melody,” Unchained |
| 1956 | “Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Qué Será, Será),”The Man Who Knew Too Much | “Friendly Persuasion,” Friendly Persuasion
“Julie,” Julie “True Love,” High Society “Written on the Wind,” Written on the Wind |
| 1957 | “All the Way,” The Joker is Wild | “An Affair to Remember,” An Affair to Remember
“April Love,” April Love “Tammy,” Tammy and the Bachelor “Wild Is the Wind,” Wild Is the Wind |
| 1958 | “Gigi,” Gigi | “Almost in Your Arms (Love Song fromHouseboat),” Houseboat
“A Certain Smile,” A Certain Smile “To Love and Be Loved,” Some Came Running “A Very Precious Love,” Marjorie Morningstar |
| 1959 | “High Hopes,” A Hole in the Head | “The Best of Everything,” The Best of Everything
“The Five Pennies,” The Five Pennies “The Hanging Tree,” The Hanging Tree “Strange Are the Ways of Love,” The Young Land |
| 1960 | “Never on Sunday,” Never on Sunday | “The Facts of Life,” The Facts of Life
“Faraway Part of Town,” Pepe “The Green Leaves of Summer,” The Alamo “The Second Time Around,” High Time |
| 1961 | “Moon River,” Breakfast at Tiffany’s | “Bachelor in Paradise,” Bachelor in Paradise
“Love Theme from El Cid (The Falcon and the Dove),” El Cid “Pocketful of Miracles,” Pocketful of Miracles “Town Without Pity,” Town Without Pity |
| 1962 | “Days of Wine and Roses,” Days of Wine and Roses | “Love Song from Mutiny on the Bounty (Follow Me),” Mutiny on the Bounty
“Song from Two for the Seesaw (Second Chance),“ Two for the Seesaw “Walk on the Wild Side,” Walk on the Wild Side |
| 1963 | “Call Me Irresponsible,” Papa’s Delicate Condition | “Charade,” Charade
“It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World,” It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World “More,” Mondo Cane “So Little Time,” 55 Days at Peking |
| 1964 | “Chim Chim Cher-ee,” Mary Poppins | “Dear Heart,” Dear Heart
“Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte,” Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte “My Kind of Town,” Robin and the 7 Hoods “Where Love has Gone,” Where Love Has Gone |
| 1965 | “The Shadow of Your Smile,” The Sandpiper | “The Ballad of Cat Ballou,” Cat Ballou
“I Will Wait for You,” The Umbrellas of Cherbourg “The Sweetheart Tree,” The Great Race “What’s New Pussycat?,” What’s New Pussycat? |
| 1966 | “Born Free,” Born Free | “Alfie,” Alfie
“Georgy Girl,” Georgy Girl “My Wishing Doll,” Hawaii “A Time for Love,” An American Dream |
| 1967 | “Talk to the Animals,” Doctor Dolittle | “The Bare Necessessities,” The Jungle Book
“The Eyes of Love,” Banning “The Look of Love,” Casino Royale “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” Thoroughly Modern Millie |
| 1968 | “Windmills of Your Mind,” The Thomas Crown Affair | “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
“For Love of Ivy,” For Love of Ivy “Funny Girl,” Funny Girl “Star!,” Star! |
| 1969 | “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid | “Come Saturday Morning,” The Sterile Cuckoo
“Jean,” The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie “True Grit,” True Grit “What Are You Doing for the Rest of Your Life?, The Happy Ending |
| 1970 | “For All We Know,” Lovers and Other Strangers | “Whistling Away the Dark,“ Darling Lili
“Till Love Touches Your Life,” Madron “Pieces of Dreams,” Pieces of Dreams “Thank You Very Much,” Scrooge |
| 1971 | “Theme from Shaft,” Shaft | “The Age of Not Believing,” Bedknobs and Broomsticks
“Bless the Beasts and Children,” Bless the Beasts and Children “Life Is What You Make It,” Kotch “All His Children,” Sometimes a Great Notion |
| 1972 | “The Morning After,” The Poseidon Adventure | “Ben,” Ben
“Marmalade, Molasses & Honey,” The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean “Come Follow, Follow Me,” The Little Ark “Strange Are the Ways of Love,” The Stepmother |
| 1973 | “The Way We Were,” The Way We Were | “(You’re So) Nice to Be Around,” Cinderella Liberty
“Live and Let Die,” Live and Let Die “Love,” Robin Hood “All That Love Went To Waste,” A Touch of Class |
| 1974 | “We May Never Love Like This Again,” The Towering Inferno | “Benji’s Theme (I Feel Love),” Benji
“Blazing Saddles,” Blazing Saddles “Wherever Love Takes Me,” Gold “Little Prince,” The Little Prince |
| 1975 | “I’m Easy,” Nashville | “How Lucky Can You Get,” Funny Lady
“Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To),” Mahogany “Richard’s Window,” The Other Side of the Mountain “Now That We’re in Love,” Whiffs |
| 1976 | “Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star is Born),” A Star is Born | “A World That Never Was,” Half a House
“Ave Satani,” The Omen “Come to Me,” The Pink Panther Strikes Again “Gonna Fly Now,” Rocky |
| 1977 | “You Light Up My Life,” You Light Up My Life | “Candle on the Water,” Pete’s Dragon
“Someone’s Waiting for You,” The Rescuers “The Slipper and the Rose Waltz (He Danced with Me/She Danced with Me),”The Slipper and the Rose “Nobody Does It Better,” Nobody Does It Better |
| 1978 | “Last Dance,” Thank God It’s Friday | “Ready To Take a Chance Again,” Foul Play
“Hopelessly Devoted to You,” Grease “When You’re Loved,” The Magic of Lassie “The Last Time I Felt Like This,” Same Time, Next Year |
| 1979 | “It Goes Like It Goes,” Norma Rae | “Through the Eyes of Love,” Ice Castles
“The Rainbow Connection,” The Muppet Movie “I’ll Never Say Goodbye,” The Promise “It’s Easy To Say,” 10 |
| 1980 | “Fame,” Fame | “People Alone,” The Competition
“Out Here On My Own,” Fame “On the Road Again,” Honeysuckle Rose “Nine to Five,” Nine to Five |
| 1981 | “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do),”Arthur | “Endless Love,” Endless Love
“For Your Eyes Only,” For Your Eyes Only “The First Time It Happens,” The Great Muppet Caper “One More Hour,” Ragtime |
| 1982 | “Up Where We Belond,” An Officer and a Gentleman | “How Do You Keep the Music Playing?”,Best Friends
“Eye of the Tiger,” Rocky III “It Might Be You,” Tootsie “If We Were In Love,” Yes, Giorgio |
| 1983 | “Flashdance… What a Feeling,” Flashdance | “Maniac,” Flashdance
“Over You,” Tender Mercies “Papa, Can You Hear Me?”, Yentl “The Way He Makes Me Feel,” Yentl |
| 1984 | “I Just Called to Say I Love You,” The Woman in Red | “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now),” Against All Odds
“Footloose,” Footloose “Let’s Hear It for the Boy,” Footloose “Ghostbusters,” Ghostbusters |
| 1985 | “Say You, Say Me,” White Nights | “The Power of Love,” Back to the Future
“Surprise, Surprise,” A Chorus Line “Miss Celie’s Blues (Sister),” The Color Purple “Separate Lives,” White Nights |
| 1986 | “Take My Breath Away,” Top Gun | “Somewhere Out There” An American Tail
“Glory of Love,” The Karate Kid, Part II “Mean Green Mother From Outer Space,”Little Shop of Horrors “Life in a Looking Glass,” That’s Life! |
| 1987 | “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life,” Dirty Dancing | “Shakedown,” Beverly Hills Cop II
“Cry Freedom,” Cry Freedom “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now,”Mannequin “Storybook Love,” The Princess Bride |
| 1988 | “Let the River Run,” Working Girl | “Calling You,” Bagdad Café
“Two Hearts,” Buster |
| 1989 | “Under the Sea,” The Little Mermaid | “After All,” Chances Are
“Kiss the Girl,” The Little Mermaid “I Love To See You Smile,” Parenthood “The Girl Who Used to Be Me,” Shirley Valentine |
| 1990 | “Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man),”Dick Tracy | “Promise Me You’ll Remember,” The Godfather Part III
“Somewhere in My Memory,” Home Alone “I’m Checkin’ Out,” Postcards from the Edge “Blaze of Glory,” Young Guns II |
| 1991 | “Beauty and the Beast,” Beauty and the Beast | “Be Our Guest,” Beauty and the Beast
“Belle,” Beauty and the Beast “When You’re Alone,” Hook “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You,” Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves |
| 1992 | “A Whole New World,” Aladdin | “Friend Like Me,” Aladdin
“I Have Nothing,” The Bodyguard “Run to You,” The Bodyguard “Beautiful Maria of My Soul,” The Mambo Kings |
| 1993 | “Streets of Philadelphia,” Philadelphia | “The Day I Fall in Love,” Beethoven’s 2nd
“Philadelphia,” Philadelphia “Again,” Poetic Justice “A Wink and a Smile,” Sleepless in Seattle |
| 1994 | “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” The Lion King | “Look What Love Has Done,” Junior
“Circle of Life,” The Lion King “Hakuna Matata,” The Lion King “Make Up Your Mind,” The Paper |
| 1995 | “Colors of the Wind,” Pocahontas | “Dead Man Walking,” Dead Man Walking
“Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?”,Don Juan DeMarco “Moonlight,” Sabrina “You’ve Got a Friend in Me,” Toy Story |
| 1996 | “You Must Love Me,” Evita | “I Finally Found Someone,” The Mirror Has Two Faces
“For the First Time,” One Fine Day “That Thing You Do!”, That Thing You Do! “Because You Loved Me,” Up Close & Personal |
| 1997 | “My Heart Will Go On,” Titanic | “Journey to the Past,” Anastasia
“How Do I Love,” Con Air “Miss Misery,” Good Will Hunting “Go the Distance,” Hercules |
| 1998 | “When You Believe,” The Prince of Egypt | “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,”Armageddon
“That’ll Do,” Babe: Pig in the City “A Soft Place to Fall,” The Horse Whisperer “The Prayer,” Quest for Camelot |
| 1999 | “You’ll Be in My Heart,” Tarzan | “Save Me,” Magnolia
“Music of My Heart,” Music of the Heart “Blame Canada,” South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut “When She Loved Me,” Toy Story 2 |
| 2000 | “Things Have Changed,” Wonder Boys | “I’ve Seen It All,” Dancer in the Dark
“My Funny Friend and Me,” The Emperor’s New Groove “A Fool in Love,” Meet the Parents “A Love Before Time,” Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon |
| 2001 | “If I Didn’t Have You,” Monsters, Inc. | “Until…,” Kate and Leopold
“May It Be,” The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring “There You’ll Be,” Pearl Harbor “Vanilla Sky,” Vanilla Sky |
| 2002 | “Lose Yourself,” 8 Mile | “I Move On,” Chicago
“Burn It Blue,” Frida “The Hands That Built America,” Gangs of New York “Father and Daughter,” The Wild Thornberrys Movie |
| 2003 | “Into the West,” The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | “Scarlet Tide,” Cold Mountain
“You Will Be My Ain True Love,” Cold Mountain “A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow,” A Mighty Wind “Belleville Rendez-Vous,” The Triplets of Belleville |
| 2004 | “Al otro lado del rio,” The Motorcycle Diaries | “Vois sur ton chermin (Look to Your Path),”The Chorus
“Learn to Be Lonely,” The Phantom of the Opera “Believe,” The Polar Express “Accidentally in Love,” Shrek 2 |
| 2005 | “It’s Hard out Here for a Pimp,” Hustle & Flow | “In the Deep,” Crash
“Travelin’ Thru,” Transamerica |
| 2006 | “I Need to Wake Up,” An Inconvenient Truth | “Our Town,” Cars
“Listen,” Dreamgirls “Love You I Do,” Dreamgirls “Patience,” Dreamgirls |
| 2007 | “Falling Slowly,” Once | “Happy Working Song,” Enchanted
“So Close,” Enchanted “That’s How You Know,” Enchanted Raise It Up,” August Rush |
| 2008 | “Jai Ho,” Slumdog Millionaire | “O…Saya,” Slumdog Millionaire
“Down to Earth,” Wall-E |
| 2009 | “The Weary Kind,” Crazy Heart | “Almost There,” The Princess and the Frog
“Down in New Orleans,” The Princess and the Frog “Loin de Paname,” Paris 36 “Take It All,” Nine |
| 2010 | “We Belong Together,” Toy Story 3 | “I See the Light,” Tangled
“Coming Home,” Country Strong “If I Rise,” 127 Hours |
| 2011 | “Man or Muppet,” The Muppets | “Real in Rio,” Rio |
| 2012 | “Skyfall,” from Skyfall | “Before My Time,” from Chasing Ice“Everybody Needs a Best Friend,” from Ted |
| 2013 | “Let It Go,” from Frozen | “Happy,” from Despicable Me 2
“The Moon Song,”from Her “Ordinary Love,” from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
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| 2014 | “Glory,” from Selma | “Lost Stars,” from Begin Again
“Grateful,” from Beyond the Lights “I’m Not Gonna Miss You,” from Glen Campbell… I’ll Be Me “Everything Is Awesome,” from The Lego Movie |
| 2015 | “Writing’s on the Wall,” from Spectre
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“Earned It,” from Fifty Shades of Grey
“Manta Ray,” from Racing Extinction “Simple Song #3,” from Youth “Till It Happens to You,” from The Hunting Ground |
| 2016 | “City of Stars,” from La La Land | Audition (The Fools Who Dream), from La La Land
“Can’t Stop This Feeling,” from Trolls “The Empty Chair,” from Jim: The James Foley Story “How Far I’ll Go,” from Moana |
| 2017 | “Remember Me,” from Coco | “This Is Me,” from The Greatest Showman
“Mighty River,” from Mudbound “Mystery of Love,” from Call Me By Your Name “Stand Up for Something,” from Marshall |
| 2018 | “Shallow,” from A Star Is Born | “All the Stars,” from Black Panther
“I’ll Fight,” from RBG “The Place Where the Lost Things Go,” from Mary Poppins Returns “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings,” from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs |
There’s no precursors here. You listen to the songs and then guess what’s gonna win. It’s easy. The evidence is all right here and most of the time you know going in what the winner is or what the top two choices are. It’s very straightforward.
Best Original Song
“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” from Toy Story 4
“Into the Unknown,” from Frozen II
“I’m Standing with You,” from Breakthrough
“(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again,” from Rocketman
“Stand Up,” from Harriet
We had a shortlist of 15 songs, and most of them sucked. They generally got most of the more interesting ones on there. The big snub was “Glasgow (No Place Like Home)” from Wild Rose, which is probably the best original song from 2019. So absent of that, we’ve got a really boring category where it’s more about who’s gonna win rather than what song is gonna win, because all the songs are pretty whatever. But whatever, let’s just reason our way through this one.
Here are all the songs, by the way:
Rankings:
5. “I’m Standing with You,” from Breakthrough — It’s Diane Warren. That’s why this is here, that’s why it’s nominated. The film is pure faith-based garbage. This won’t get any cotes because no one will know the film or the song. And if they actually bother to listen to it before voting, I still can’t see this getting any votes. It sounds like any number of generic songs we’ve heard a bunch. How can you consider this as anything other than a fifth choice?
4. “Stand Up,” from Harriet — Cynthia Erivo co-wrote this and may even perform it at the ceremony. Which may help it. She’s got double nominations and maybe they’ll throw her a few votes here. Didn’t work for Mary J. Blige in 2017, but hey, you can dream, right? I suspect this will end up just like “Mighty River” did — an also-ran that maybe gets a few votes for people who liked it, but something that most people who don’t bother to actually listen to the nominees dismiss because it’s from a movie they didn’t particularly like.
3. “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” from Toy Story 4 — It’s Randy Newman doing Toy Story. That will automatically get him some votes. He won in 2010 for “We Belong Together” from Toy Story 3. That, however, was a much happier and uplifting song. This is kind of a nothing song. So if they vote for him, it’s because it’s Randy Newman and he’s double nominated and not for anything else. I can’t see this winning on that alone. I just can’t. Look at the other two songs left and who wrote them and then just listen to this song. There’s nothing there to vote for. I’m honestly surprised they nominated it. But apparently popularity contest trumps good songs in this category.
2. “Into the Unknown,” from Frozen II — There’s a very strong case to be made for this as the #1 choice. It’s really a 1 and a 1a and you have to guess which one they’re gonna vote for. This is such an obvious choice as a winner. The last one won, Idina Menzel is singing it, it’s the one Disney is pushing… makes total sense. But it’s won no precursors and the film, I think, hasn’t really opened to the kind of acclaim the last one did. So I’m not sold on this as the frontrunner even though this can easily win. It’s kind of a 2017 situation, where the Disney/Pixar song is up against the other one from the film with only one nomination. Though here, Rocketman isn’t thought of as the ‘bomb’ that Greatest Showman was thought of at the time (even though people sort of came around on that one when they realized how good the music is and how much money it made). So I think it’s a 50/50, but if I had to call it right now, I’d say that while they’re basically neck and neck, I’ll say this is the second choice for now just so people don’t dismiss the other contender. Because when Disney or Pixar is the frontrunner, it’s hard to get out of the mindset of, “Well that’s gonna win and that’s that.”
1. “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again,” from Rocketman — It’s Elton John and he won both the Globe and BFCA. Granted, he tied BFCA, but the other winner wasn’t nominated here. And I know the Globes are starfuckers, but a case can be made that this is the song they’re gonna vote for. I’m not really sure what people are gonna do here, because there’s not that obvious winner to rally around. If we go back to 2017, they defaulted to Pixar and that won. If that’s the case, then Frozen will win this no problem. But here… Elton’s pretty visible, and he’s out there on this one because it’s his movie. That might propel him to the win here. It’ll be interesting to see what they do for performances at the ceremony. But I think you have to consider this a very slight frontrunner at the moment, even if Frozen is gonna be the eventual choice in the end. But the real point to drive home is — you’ve got your top two choices and are ignoring everything else. Keep Randy third in case he sneaks in there, but most of you aren’t working off the system that I work off. So you’re looking for straight winners. And this category will be either Elton or Frozen and it might just be a toss up until the very end. So we’ll see.
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