Earlier this morning the nominations for the 87th Academy Awards were announced in Beverly Hills, California. Among the 24 categories announced were the five nominees for Best Original Song.
Here are the five nominees:
“Everything is Awesome” from The Lego Movie
“Glory” from Selma
“Grateful” from Beyond the Lights
“I’m Not Gonna Miss You” from Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me
“Lost Stars” from Begin Again
Nominees for Best Original Song must “consist of words and music, both of which were original and specifically written for the film.” This criteria has been debated over the years, and has led to many good songs not even being submitted or declared eligible for nomination.
The shortlist this year consisted of 79 eligible songs before eventually being pared down to the five nominees announced this morning. I took it upon myself to listen to (most of) those 79 songs before the nominations were announced:
BEST SONG NOT NOMINATED (FROM A POPULAR MOVIE): “I’ll Get You What You Want (Cockatoo in Malibu) from Muppets Most Wanted
Bret McKenzie won an Oscar in 2012 for his song, “Man or Muppet” from The Muppets. He returned for the sequel, and three songs made it onto the shortlist this time around. This song will have to do for all the Flight of the Conchords fans hoping for a reunion.
NUMBER OF SONGS ON SHORTLIST WRITTEN BY A.R. RAHMAN: Five
Rahman won two Oscars for his work on Slumdog Millionaire and had five songs shortlisted for this year’s awards, one from The Hundred Foot Journey and four from Million Dollar Arm.
BEST SONG FROM A 90’S STAR: “Lost Stars” from Begin Again
This song may be performed by Adam Levine from Maroon 5, but it was written by Gregg Alexander. In a former life, Alexander was the lead singer of The New Radicals, who scored a huge hit in 1998 with “You Get What You Give.” Other 90’s stars appearing on the shortlist included Damon Albarn from Blur, Alanis Morissette, Gwen Stefani, and Alan Jackson.
SONG FROM A MOVIE THAT MADE $32,188 AT THE BOX OFFICE: “Color the World” from The Hero of Color City
This computer animated mess about a boy’s crayons that come to life when he sleeps features the voices of Christina Ricci, Owen Wilson, Craig Ferguson, and Rosie Perez.
BEST SONG NOT NOMINATED (FROM AN UNKNOWN MOVIE): “Over Your Shoulder” from Rudderless
William H. Macy’s directorial debut stars Billy Crudup as a father who finds his dead son’s demo tapes, and forms a band to help him with the grief. The songs for the film were written by Simon Steadman, Charlton Pettus, and Ben Limpic. Look out for indie rocker Ben Kweller playing the bass for Crudup’s band.
BIGGEST SNUB FROM THE GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINEES: “Yellow Flicker Beat” from The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part I
Only “Glory” was nominated for both a Golden Globe and Oscar, but Lorde’s song from her curated soundtrack for the latest film in The Hunger Games saga may have been more deserving than “Grateful” or “Lost Stars.” Oscar voters may have had a problem nominating a song from a movie based on young adult novels written and performed by an 18-year-old.
BEST SONG NOT ON SHORTLIST: “I Love You All” from Frank
Frank stars Michael Fassbender as the lead singer of the fictional band Soronprfbs (yes, that is Fassbender singing) who wears a paper-mache mask on stage. The film was loosely based on the life of Chris Sievey, a.k.a. Frank Sidebottom, and co-written by Jon Ronson, a former member of Sievey’s band.
This category looks to be pretty competitive with Oscar voters needing to choose between a fun song that gets stuck in your head, a powerful anthem, a song written by six-time nominee Diane Warren, the final song of a country music legend, and a nice pop song from an indie film.
In reality, this category probably comes down to two songs, “Everything is Awesome” and “Glory.” Both films were snubbed in other categories, so Oscar voters may feel the need to give an award to these films in some way. Since a tie has never happened in this category the likelihood of that happening seems slim, so here’s my choice:
WINNER OF BEST ORIGINAL SONG: “Glory” from Selma
John Legend and Common have already picked up a Golden Globe for their collaboration, and I don’t see anyone standing in their way to an Oscar as well. It’s topical and historical at the same time, and also a very good song. I’m not sure how the Oscars will top Prince as a presenter though. Maybe Dave Chappelle as Prince?
The 87th Academy Awards take place on Sunday, Feb. 22, and will be hosted by Neil Patrick Harris.
