Soundtracking: Oscar's Original Song Shortlist
Wednesday, December 19, 2018 at 12:01PM by Chris Feil
Monday's Oscar shortlists already have us handwringing. So naturally as an Original Song obsessive, I'm taking a look at each of the nominees and their chances to make the final five. I shed a tears for Hearts Beat Loud, "Capital Letters" from Fifty Shades Freed (yeah I said it!), and everything else in A Star is Born that isn't "Shallow". But there can be only five and I am happy for any competitive year that keeps quiet those calling for this category's death!
The fifteen finalists favor big music names like Oscar favorites like Diane Warren and Alan Menken, so there is a lot of competition between heavyweights...
“When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
One wishes that "No Dames" had gotten such Oscar distinction in Hail, Caesar!'s year, but we're always pleased by Coen brothers musical idiosyncrasy. And this was one of the most pleasant surprises of this lineup! Would make a swell nominee, particularly if it would give us a flying, winged Tim Blake Nelson on the telecast.
"Treasure" from Beautiful Boy
Beautiful Boy is so bloated with needle drops and music cues that you can barely tell that one of its cues is an original. This Sampha track however does stand out stylistically from the pack, but I'd expect how the song gets lost in the mix of the movie's music to hold it back.
"All the Stars" from Black Panther
A multi-Grammy nominated song from the genius Kendrick Lamar and one of the safest bets in the category. Even though the songwriting branch has sometimes been hesitant to closing credits songs, this is a sure thing. Can't wait to see how they stage it on the telecast!
"Revelation" from Boy Erased
Boy Erased already got the full Soundtracking treatment and I stand by this slight song being one of the things about the movie that works. It's featured multiple times in the film, including at its close, so this is definitely a potential spoiler nominee.
"Girl in the Movies" from Dumplin'
Dolly Parton has been stumping for this even if Netflix really hasn't, and this film seems to be one of the Netflix originals that hasn't immediately died. What makes this a safer bet for a nomination? The film itself functions as a Dolly Parton collection of greatest hits that reminds viewers how much they love her.
"We Won't Move" from The Hate U Give
Seeing the underrated The Hate U Give get some traction anywhere in the Oscar hunt is heartening, and this beautiful emotional ballad could be a potential spoiler for how it writes the film's themes large. Oscar loves an inspirational ballad and this is a good one.
"The Place Where Lost Things Go" from Mary Poppins Returns
One of the lamest narratives to take hold this Oscar season? "The Mary Poppins Returns songs are bad." While you could argue that this sequel doesn't help itself in that regard by so actively chasing the format of the original, the songs that occur in those placeholder spots are quite lovely and hummable (even if the lyrics are more cumbersome, *ahem* like the original, SUH!). This song is the sequel's pseudo-answer to "Feed the Birds" and its quietly wondrous and capital S sentimental.
"Trip a Little Light Fantastic" from Mary Poppins Returns
With such stacked competition, I wonder how smoothly Poppins could land a second nomination here, particularly for a number where the choreography is more of the star than the songwriting. However, if voters have the telecast at all in mind, it would be so wonderful to see this recreated on stage during the show.
“Keep Reachin’” from Quincy
Chaka Khan! This song is a blast and would show the songwriting branch as eager to have a good goddamn time, but they are not prone to do that unfortunately. They are however prone to honor legends and the songwriting team here includes Khan, Mark Ronson, and Quincy Jones himself. Don't doubt Oscar's recent history of honoring documentary songs.
“I’ll Fight” from RBG
Speaking of documentaries that shouldn't be doubted in Original Song. Doubly, don't doubt Diane Warren to keep landing those nominations until she eventually wins. Don't doubt that people will call this one of the mornings shockeroo nominations we should probably see coming.
“A Place Called Slaughter Race” from Ralph Breaks the Internet
A very traditional and very silly number from an animated hit seems like a safe bet, but with stiffer competition surrounding it, might Ralph feel slighter by not being a musical? And with Disney pushing harder for its other two likely films in this category. But hey, Alan Menken.
“OYAHYTT” from Sorry to Bother You
Oh yeah, alright, hell yeah, that's tight! While it would be so satisfying for Sorry to Bother You to storm the Oscar stage in anyway possible, it would seem appropriately stealthy in the unexpected terrain for it to happen in Original Song. And Boots Riley is one of the songwriters, so it could be a small way to honor his auteurist vision - and the song perfectly distills the spirit of its anarchy. The one I'm keeping my fingers crossed for tightest.
“Shallow” from A Star Is Born
We can debate if ASIB's focused campaign of only pushing "Shallow" of its many songs was necessary or not. But the weight of the song in context, its wider cultural impact, and yes the carryover affection for the film's entire songbook should make this smooth sailing.
“Suspirium” from Suspiria
Thom Yorke's lack of a score nomination irked quite a few folks (it's great work, especially the Volk sequence), but his shortlisting here isn't quite an apples-to-apples corresponding nomination no matter the symmetry between what Yorke created. The songwriting branch is just more adventurous. This probably comes down to how much they love the movie, considering it plays elegiacally in context over the opening credits sequence.
“The Big Unknown” from Widows
I'd hoped that Sade's "Flower of the Universe" from A Wrinkle in Time would be the song of hers to come through, but I will accept this as an alternate and as a way to keep Widows in the conversation by any means. This song kind of perfectly matches the film's closing exhale.
CHRIS' PREDICTIONS
"All the Stars" from Black Panther
"Girl in the Movies" from Dumplin'
"I'll Fight" from RBG
"The Place Where Lost Things Go" from Mary Poppins Returns
"Shallow" from A Star is Born
(and Nathaniel agrees! - his predictions)
Reader Comments (22)
Dolly Parton's image appears so much in Dumplin' you'd think she was the leading actress. I think it's pretty safe to predict her song for a nomination.
Chris, wow, I'm constantly amazed at how thorough you are. You have outdone yourself, sir! Thank you for this amazing overview of one of my favorite Oscar categories. May it never die!
BTW, love the 1974 winner--We May Never Love Like This Again from The Towering Inferno, a spiritual sister to I'll Never Love Again.
I really hope A Place Called Slaughter Race gets in. Yes, it's silly, but it's so integral to Vanellope's character arch and it derives from one of the best jokes in the movie. It would be a lot of fun to see them re-create that one, hopefully with Sarah Silverman singing on stage with Gal Gadot.
While I do prefer The Place Where Lost Things Go, I have a feeling Trip a Little Light Fantastic may have a better shot. Let's not forget, Chim Chim Cheree won the Oscar for the original film and Trip a Little is an analogue to that one (combined with Step in Time for the second half), and it would also be an excuse to have Lin-Manuel Miranda singing at the telecast. That narrative about the MPR songs being bad, I think it has more to do with the songs not being as instantly hummable as the Sherman Brothers songs, though to be fair, thos songs have a 54-year head start and most of us heard those when we were kids, so the problem the MPR songs have is that, by associating themselves with Mary Poppins, they immediately call for comparisons to the Sherman Brothers songs which most of us have had in our heads all our lives. I do think MPR is an inferior score, but the two songs on this list are quite good (and I also Can You Imagine That and that song that Michael sings to his late wife, which I can't remember right now).
Still can't believe the studio was so cautious with A Star Is Born.
I also prefer the other Sade song, but I'm totally fine with An Eyesore in Time getting zero nominations.
The Jennifer Hudson song is a festival of cliches.
Yorke's song is so good and it works so well with the tone of the movie. I think I'm going to root for him. I always pick a long shot.
Great article.
The decision not to campaign any other ASIB songs is interesting, but probably wise. "Shallow" is clearly the frontrunner in this category. Other songs from the film (especially "I'll Never Love Again") would easily land nominations as well. This really erases the possibility of vote splitting which may have, however unlikely, resulted in a surprise win for, say, a Mary Poppins song. It might also guard against Lady Gaga backlash--if she ended up with 4 Oscar nominations all of a sudden, I'm sure some people would be like, "Seriously?"
My favorite song of the batch is "All the Stars," which I LOVE. I liked ASIB OK but that's about it. That said, I think "Shallow" deserves to win this one because the song is such an integral part of the best scene of the whole film. You really can't compare that to a song that plays over the closing credits. That's one of the things that's always been so tricky about this category--do people vote based solely on the track themselves, or on how it is used in the film itself? Since it's the Oscars and not the Grammys, I imagine the song's use in the film should hold SOME weight.
I would give the Oscar to "Shallow" and the Grammys to "All the Stars."
Probably my least favorite category. I always seem to hate just about everything nominated every year. I guess that's just me. I hope Lady Gaga goes back to doing dance music again someday.
Yo! Just one of those eliminate-this-worthless-category-already zealots checkin' in. I mean Diane Warren is a menace to society unrivaled since the heyday of Alan and Marilyn Bergman. (Anybody remember 1982 when they got THREE nominations in this category?)
That said - Nominate OYAHYTT for God's sake! I don't care about the other four. If there were more nominations like this, the category would prove its worth. Bet it doesn't make the final 5, though.
JJM--This actually happened last year when Remember Me won. The more popular hit was This Is Me, but the Coco theme was victorious because, according to many, the song was vital to the film's message and narrative. Remember Me certainly resonates and plays better in the movie than just listening to it on the headphones,
Like Richter Scale, I'll cast a vote of support to "A Place Called Slaughter Race." It's a fun parody of the princess songs, but works well within the narrative structure of the film, and is almost tailor made for a rousing performance at the ceremony. Plus it's Alan Menken.
I really hope Buster Scruggs gets in. Not only is it a nifty song, but it actually serves a purpose in the film.
JUSTICE FOR THOM -- his score should've been nominated.
That said I love the Mary Poppins songs and I'd be fine with one of them snatching the trophy away from Gaga's mediocre tune.
I know it kinda misses the point of the category, but I sorta hate when songs get nominated that are too specific to their film. By which I mean, "A Place Called Slaughter Race" or "Trip a Little Light Fantastic" are really fun, but they really only work for their films. I'm not going to want to listen to a song that's constantly mentioning a Great White appearing out of the street or a bunch of lamplighters speaking nonsense. Yes, these characteristics mean they fit well into their narratives, but it really shortens their shelf life. Ultimately, I'd much rather have a winner like "I've Had The Time Of My Life" than one like "Man or Muppet."
With that in mind, "Shallow" and "We Won't Move" are my favorites this year. They're rousing, well-written, and they fit into their films' themes without losing generalizability.
Also, it was dumb that A Star Is Born didn't submit more songs. Only two can get nominated and as if anything was going to beat Shallow... Honestly, the two ASIB nominees probably would have finished 1-2 in the voting. I can think of at least three other songs from the film that would be deserving of a nomination over every title (other than "Shallow") in this shortlist.
I really don't like this trend of nominating songs from the closing credits of documentaries. They generally don't feel like they're part and parcel with the movies themselves and almost all of them just sound like these boring exercises in cheap uplift. I also get the feeling like they were only commissioned as a weird sort of Oscar bait.
I'll go to my grave thinking "Pray for Me" is the far better BLACK PANTHER song.
MJS - Agree.
Wow if we get Kendick, Dolly, Gaga and Mary Poppins on the telecast, that would be something else.
Chris as always this column is a delight!
Shallow
All the stars
Girl in the movies
Suspirium
One of Mary Poppins
When I heard "I'll Never Love Again" I thought, "Okay, now we're finally getting this ASIB's "Evergreen," which will easily win Best Song next year." I understand not wanting to split the voting, but it's odd when best songs from films don't compete for, you know, Best Song. What's it all about, Oscar? It's like Meryl Streep not campaigning for "Sophie's Choice" because "Still of the Night" came out that year too (not really, but you get the point).
My favorites:
- The Place Where the Lost Thigs Go - MPR. It's Marc Shaiman, beloved by the Music Branch and one of the composers most nominated during the times when Music - Comedy or Musical Oscars existed ('95-'98).
- Trip a Little Light Fantastic - MPR.
Both songs are great and deserve the nomination.
- We Won't Move THUG. Great song. I think this is gonna surprise everybody at nominations morning.
- A Place Called Slaughter Race - RBTI. It's Menken, it's great (not memorable) but it makes perfect sense within the movie.
- Keep Reachin' - Q Catchy and a great opportunity to honor Quincy.
My Predictions
- Where the Lost Things Go - MPR
- Shallow - ASIB
- Girl in the Movies - D
- All the Stars - BP
- We Won't Move - THUG
Btw, I don't buy Diane Warren's song this year. It's dull and simple.
I'm just sad nothing from Hearts Beat Loud gets it. I love the titular song and also Everything Must Go. Both songs are integral to the stories told in this little gem of a movie.
RIP Hearts Beat Loud
RIP Anna and the Apocalypse
Would have loved for songs from both to show up
>I really don't like this trend of nominating songs from the closing credits of documentaries. They generally don't feel like they're part and parcel with the movies themselves and almost all of them just sound like these boring exercises in cheap uplift. I also get the feeling like they were only commissioned as a weird sort of Oscar bait.<<
Here here. And I have no doubt at all that these songs (I call them "documentary dirges") were written for and included in these docs strictly because of this category. The RBG and Quincy songs are pretty disposable/forgettable, but at least the godawful "Gravity" from Free Solo didn't make the cut. Blame Melissa Etheridge's win for this. Hoping that this year emulates last year's "documentary dirge"-less final slate.