By Will Mavity
Some years the Best Original Song category is so thin that you bring up the usual “Is it time to get rid of the Original Song Category?” question. And then the next year, we end up with a massively packed field (like last year). This year is somewhere between a packed year like last year, and the barren wasteland like the two nominees in 2011. Unlike last year, no one is saying “why do we even care about the nominees because we know ‘Shallow’ is winning” months before nominations are even announced.
There’s a moderately deep field without a clear frontrunner, and accordingly, many studios are taking advantage of that fact to attempt to make a splash. Many films already have listed their songs on their campaign sites, featured them in their print FYC ads, and others have promoted their songs in the press extensively. Most of the songs below have been singled out by studios and publicists as being campaigned (although a few are just conjecture).
Click below to see the list of songs in contention this year for Best Original Song.
Here are the main contenders this year (in alphabetical order by film and with links to the song and the review for the movie)
Remember that singers are not in contention for the nomination unless they participated in writing or composing the song.
* = previous Nominee
** = previous Winner
1. “A Beautiful Life“ – “Abominable“
Who gets nominated? – Bebe Rexha, David Saint Fleur, Samuel James Zammarelli, Nicholas Black & Christopher Tempest
2. “Home To You“ – “The Aeronauts“
Who gets nominated? – Sigrid
3. “Knew You For A Moment“ – “After the Wedding“
Who gets nominated? – Abby Quinn
4. “Speechless“ – “Aladdin“
Who gets nominated? – Benj Pasek**, Justin Paul** & Alan Menken**
5. “Sun, Flood or Drought“ – “The Biggest Little Farm“
Who gets nominated? – The Avett Brothers
6. “Letter to My Godfather“ – “The Black Godfather”
Who gets nominated? – Pharrell Williams* & Chad Hugo
7. “For You My Love (O Bandeya)“ – “Blinded By The Light“
Who gets nominated? – A.R. Rahman**, Shellee & Rianjali
8. “One Little Soldier“ – “Bombshell”
Who gets nominated? – Regina Spektor
9. “I’m Standing With You“ – “Breakthrough”
Who gets nominated? – Diane Warren*
10. “It’s Not Over“ – “Brian Banks“
Who gets nominated? – Glenda Proby, Mike Sabath & Sam Fischer
11. “Pray For a Miracle“ – “Brian Banks“
Who gets nominated? – Justin Gray & Travis Romell Harris
12. “Da Bronx” – “The Bronx USA”
Who gets nominated? – Paul Williams** & Charles Fox*
13. “Beautiful Ghosts“ – “Cats”
Who gets nominated? – Taylor Swift & Andrew Lloyd Webber**
14. “Don’t Call Me Angel“ – “Charlie’s Angels“
Who gets nominated? – Ariana Grande, Alma-Sofia Miettinen, ILYA, Lana Del Rey, Max Martin, Miley Cyrus & Savan Kotecha
15. “Slow Train” – “Clemency“
Who gets nominated? – Kathryn Bostic
16. “I’ll Wait For You” – “Cliffs of Freedom”
Who gets nominated? – George Kallis & Marianne Metropoulos
17. “Into the Unknown“ – “Frozen 2“
Who gets nominated? – Kristen Anderson-Lopez** & Robert Lopez**
18. “Apna Time Aayega“ – “Gully Boy”
Who gets nominated? – Dub Sharma, Divine & Ankur Tewari
19. “Stand Up“ – “Harriet“
Who gets nominated? – Joshua Brian Campbell & Cynthia Erivo
20. “Control“ – “Her Smell“
Who gets nominated? – Alicia Bognanno
21. “Together From Afar“ – “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World“
Who gets nominated? – Jónsi
22. “Invisible“ – “Klaus“
Who gets nominated? – Justin Tranter, Jussi Ilmari & Caroline Pennell
23. “Not Evil“ – “The Lego Movie: Part 2“
Who gets nominated? – Jon Lajoie
24. “Catchy Song“ – “The Lego Movie: Part 2“
Who gets nominated? – Jon Lajoie, Dillon Francis, James Rushent & Alaya High
25. “Super Cool“ – “The Lego Movie: Part 2“
Who gets nominated? – Beck Hansen, David Greenbaum, Akiva Schaffer, Andy Samberg & Jorma Taccone
26. “Never Too Late“ – “The Lion King“
Who gets nominated? – Elton John*, Tim Rice* & Lebo M
27. “Spirit“ – “The Lion King“
Who gets nominated? – Beyoncé, ILYA & Labrinth
28. “You Can’t Stop the Girl“ – “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil“
Who gets nominated? – Aaron Huffman, Bebe Rexha, Evan Sult, Jeff Lin, Michael Pollack, Nate Cyphert, Sean Nelson & The Futuristics
29. “Do Dilly Do (A Friend Like You)“ – “Missing Link“
Who gets nominated? – Walter Martin
30. “Daily Battles“ – “Motherless Brooklyn“
Who gets nominated? – Thom Yorke
31. “Running For So Long (House a Home)“ – “The Peanut Butter Falcon“
Who gets nominated? – Parker Ainsworth, Tyler Nilson & Michael Schwartz
32. “Soju One Glass“ – “Parasite“
Who gets nominated? – Bong Joon-ho & Jung Jae-il
33. “Yo Love” – “Queen & Slim“
Who gets nominated? – Vince Staples, Leken Taylor, Jairus Mozee & Ricardo Valdez Valentine, Jr.
34. “I’m Gonna Love Me Again“ – “Rocketman“
Who gets nominated? – Elton John** & Bernie Taupin
35. “The Song of Names” – “The Song of Names”
Who gets nominated? – Howard Shore** & Jeffrey Caine **
36. “Unbroken“ – “To Be Of Service”
Who gets nominated? – Jon Bon Jovi*
37. “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away“ – “Toy Story 4“
Who gets nominated? – Randy Newman**
38. “Glasgow“ – “Wild Rose“
Who gets nominated? – Mary Steenburgen**, Caitlyn Smith, Kate York & Jack Arnold
39. “Inside of Us All“ – “Windows on the World”
Who gets nominated? – Robert Mailer Anderson & Jay Walsh
We won’t know anything for sure until the Academy music branch announces its 15 finalists on the Original Song shortlist in December. In the meantime, what do you think of the contenders? Are any missing that you would add? Which do you feel will be the final five nominated for the Oscar? Let us know in the comments section below or on our Twitter account and be sure to check out our latest Oscar predictions here.
You can follow Will and hear more of his thoughts on the Oscars & Film on Twitter at @mavericksmovies
