Chris here. Though the conversation around Oscar's Original Song category sways negative these days, there is the potential this year to have one of the strongest lineups in some time. And we now have the massive list of 70 tracks eligible this year to support that claim.
While there are the annual "huh?!" titles among the contenders, the lineup has some strong outsider fare like Patti Cake$, Step, and The Meyerowitz Stories. Among the things you won't see in the longlist are "I Get Overwhelmed" from A Ghost Story or "Cut to the Feeling" from Leap, as both of those weren't explicitly written for their films. Also two musicals, Coco and The Greatest Showman, are only eligible for their biggest tracks - however both remain likely players here, though curveballs should be expected in this category at all times.
Let's take a look at the eligible songs/films:
“U.N.I (You And I)” - And the Winner Isn’t
“Love And Lies” - Band Aid
“If I Dare” - Battle of the Sexes
“Evermore” - Beauty and the Beast BFCA NOMINEE
“How Does A Moment Last Forever” - Beauty and the Beast
“Now Or Never” - Bloodline: Now or Never
“She” - Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story
“Your Hand I Will Never Let It Go” - The Book of Henry
“Buddy’s Business” - Brawl in Cell Block 99
“The Crown Sleeps” - The Breadwinner
“World Gone Mad” - Bright
“Mystery Of Love” - Call Me by Your Name BFCA NOMINEE
“Visions Of Gideon” - Call Me by Your Name
“Captain Underpants Theme Song” - Captain Underpants The First Epic Movie
“Ride” - Cars 3
“Run That Race” - Cars 3
“Tell Me How Long” - Chasing Coral
“Broken Wings” - City of Ghosts
“Remember Me” - Coco GLOBE & BFCA NOMINEE
“Prayers For This World” - Cries from Syria
“There’s Something Special” - Despicable Me 3
“It Ain’t Fair” - Detroit
“A Little Change In The Weather” - Downsizing
“Stars In My Eyes (Theme From Drawing Home)” - Drawing Home
“All In My Head” - Elizabeth Blue
“Dying For Ya” - Elizabeth Blue
“Green” - Elizabeth Blue
“Can’t Hold Out On Love” - Father Figures
“Home” - Ferdinand GLOBE NOMINEE
“I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” - Fifty Shades Darker
“You Shouldn’t Look At Me That Way” - Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool
“This Is How You Walk On” - Gifted
“Summer Storm” - The Glass Castle
“The Pure And The Damned” - Good Time
“This Is Me” - The Greatest Showman GLOBE & BFCA NOMINEE
“The Hero” - The Hero
“How Shall A Sparrow Fly” - Hostiles
“Just Getting Started” - If You’re Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast
“Truth To Power” - An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power
“Next Stop, The Stars” - Kepler’s Dream
“The Devil & The Huntsman” - King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
“Have You Ever Wondered” - Lake of Fire
“I’ll Be Gone” - Lake of Fire
“We’ll Party All Night” - Lake of Fire
“Friends Are Family” - The Lego Batman Movie
“Found My Place” - The Lego Ninjago Movie
“Stand Up For Something” - Marshall BFCA NOMINEE
“Rain” - Mary and the Witch’s Flower
“Myron/Byron” - The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)
“Longing For Summer” - Moomins and the Winter Wonderland
“Mighty River” - Mudbound GLOBE NOMINEE
“Never Forget” - Murder on the Orient Express
“Hold The Light” - Only the Brave
“PBNJ” - Patti Cake$
“Tuff Love (Finale)” - Patti Cake$
“Lost Souls” - The Pirates of Somalia
“How A Heart Unbreaks” - Pitch Perfect 3
“The Promise” - The Promise
“Kaadanayum Kaalchilambe” - Pulimurugan
“Maanathe Maarikurumbe” - Pulimurugan
“Stubborn Angel” - Same Kind of Different as Me
“Dancing Through The Wreckage” - Served Like a Girl
“Keep Your Eyes On Me” - The Shack
“On The Music Goes” - Slipaway
“The Star” - The Star GLOBE NOMINEE
“Jump” - Step
“Tickling Giants” - Tickling Giants
“Fly Away” - Trafficked
“Speak To Me” - Voice from the Stone
“Walk On Faith” - Year by the Sea
Should Coco and Showman be our top contenders, that makes two recent winning songwriting teams back in the race: respectively Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez ("Let It Go") and Benj Pasek and Justin Paul ("City of Stars"). Call Me By Your Name's chances are decent, even if the stronger "Visions of Gideon" is less likely despite being featured in one of the film's showcase moments. Beyond that, it is a wide open race with some exciting possibilities. What songs do you think could make the final five?