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)