Will Oscar Voters Sing Along With "Skyfall" ?
Friday, October 5, 2012 at 9:43AM 
My freinquaintance Mark Blankenship at New Now Next is in love with Adele's "Skyfall" theme. That crush is sweeping the internet though the song also has its "it's dull!" naysayers.
He's written a fun article but I wouldn't be so bold about predicting an Oscar to go along with the chanteuse's Grammy statues. For one thing you can hear iconic Bond underscoring and you know how the music branch loves to disqualify the best movie songs for stupid reasons or just not nominated the best ones even if they do qualify. (Moulin Rouge!'s über classic "Come What May" -- not that Adele's song is that caliber -- is an example of the former and Bruce Springsteen's Wrestler theme is an example of the latter.)
Here's Adele's song if you haven't yet committed it to memory.
I should stop being a killjoy about Oscar dreams and such a bitch about the music branch but it's impossible for me not to note the statistics -- it's a sickness! -- and they aren't promising. Oscar's music branch has been notoriously stingy about awarding this Original Song Bonanza of a Franchise. To date these are the only three Original Song Oscar nominees from 007 films (four if you count the non-official Bond film Casino Royale from the 60s since "The Look of Love" was nominated)
- Live and Let Die (1973)
"Live and Let Die" Paul & Linda McCartney (sung by Paul McCartney) - The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
"Nobody Does it Better" Marvin Hamlisch & Carole Bayer Sager (sung by Carly Simon) - For Your Eyes Only (1981)
"For Your Eyes Only" Bill Conti & Michael Leeson (sung by Sheena Easton)
That statistic will shake your faith but it's not very stirring.
Adele, Bond James Bond, Original Song, Oscar Snubs, Oscar Trivia, Oscars (12)
Reader Comments (20)
I don't usually like Bond songs and this one is no exception.
My only musical wish is that Florence + the Machine be nominated for "Breath of Life" (Snow White and the Huntsman). If that happens, I'll be fine with whatever's omitted from whatever category.
Not a fan of the song either, but regarding its chances:
It seems to me that the Oscars in general don't like it when people don't follow their rules, but they don't mind breaking those same rules if they like you enough. I wonder if the novelty of having such a well-regarded (both artistically and in pop culture) singer might be enough to have them look the other way.
The fact that we're even debating whether or not it will qualify is probably indicative of the Oscars' inconsistency.
I never understand the Oscars in this regard. Having really great performances of the original songs is something that would liven the telecast.
Why Cher or Madonna were not able to go on and sing their last movie themes (had they been nominated) is beyond me. Both would have been 5000x better than the crappy production numbers they throw in there or the endless montages of movies we've all already seen.
Adele AND Florence and the Machine would make for a great telecast this year. They really need to get with the program here.
I think ABC would be over the moon to have an Oscars commercial that only tauted - with performances by Adele, Mumford and Sons, Katy Perry, Florence and The Machine and Hugh Jackman! Swap in Willie Nelson, Taylor Swift (though I don't think it's eligible - is it?) or Arcade Fire even.
Also I'm thinking Adele is going to get Beyonced. Superstar at the height of her relevance and popularity writes a decent but not exactly perfect song for a movie that gets the most attention out of any song in the category and then loses.
That said, I have no critical distance from Beyonce, so I might just still be bitter.
That said actually, now that I think of it, it happened in the 80's with "9 To 5" an absolute classic song for Dolly Parton too, so who knows? Maybe ladystars in the music business just have no luck with Oscar. I'm sure Madonna would agree too.
I really like the song. I'm in love with it, actually.
I like the song well enough, but it's pretty much exactly what you think of when you hear "Bond song by Adele." I was hoping for something a little brassier, like the theme for "Goldfinger."
I really hope this is nominated and that the Oscar telecast gives us performances of the songs this year. When was the last time a soundtrack song has generated this much interest ?
I want the original song category retired. It serves no one and gave Lionel Richie an Oscar.
TB-but the defense of 9 to 5 was that it was competing against the equally huge (at the time, at least) "Fame." I still don't understand why Beyonce didn't get included in the "Listen" category, but she was also losing to a major female singer in Melissa Etheridge.
Nat's stats are pretty grim, though I have to admit that, considering the disaster that was last year's category, and Oscar's occasional grab for ratings, Adele would be difficult to bet against-she's everyone's favorite singer right now, it seems. Unless the song gets disqualified, I think we're looking at a nomination here.
It's exactly what i expected adele to do and so i am not disappointed but i do have a huge soft spot for tina turners goldeneye song which i think this closely resembles.
According to the BBC site its a wholly original composition that gives a nod to the original theme but does not copy it so I can't imagine they can disqualify it
I love it, but I'm a huge Adele fan.
I really see her getting nominated ... I mean, that category is so fucked up she could certainly be snubbed, but I think people are still in love with Adele. Plus, the last few themes have really sucked, which could really help her.
Idk. I guess I could see it going either way.
There are actually several good songs this year which almost never happens. I like the Adele and Dolly Parton songs as well as the one from Brave. The one I'm waiting for is "Suddenly" the new song written for Les Miserables.
I like it a lot. It's haunting. It's been in my head all day. I hope it gets nominated. And I can't wait to see the film!
I wish the Mumford & Sons song The Enemy from Wuthering Heights would get in. Remarkable song.
I have never seen a James Bond film (regrettably...never really been a big "spy/espionage" fan), but definitely enjoying the song! Go Adele =)
A powerful song from Adele. As stated above, this is what one will probably expect from the "Bond+Adele" equation, but it is still an epic song. :D Hope this WINS the Oscar this year.
Original Song must have a worthy line up this year. Last year was a disaster. "Man or Muppet" was passable, "Real in Rio" was lightweight fun, but where the hell is "The Living Proof"? They better fix it this year.