by Chris Feil
In lieu of a regular deep dive into the soundtrack of one film, Soundtracking is indulging in some For Your Consideration tracks before the season narrows down to a few contenders. Naturally, all of the talk for original songs this season has been gobbled up by A Star Is Born with some hopes being thrown towards the likes of Mary Poppins Returns, Black Panther, and even Radiohead's Thom Yorke for Suspiria. I'll unpack the field once Oscar reveals its shortlist on December 17 (remember that quiet news item that the Academy will be announcing song and score shortlists all at once along with such categories as visual effects?).
But the outsiders deserve some love too, so allow me to champion a few solid tracks...
"Here I Am" from Dumplin'
You may not have heard that this Netflix heartwarmer arrives this Friday December 7, but if you have it's likely because Dolly Parton has been stumping for a few of her original songs featured in the film. Seriously Netflix, promote half as hard as your one-of-a-kind legend songwriter does. Parton shares duties on this song with Sia, who strangely has never gotten an Oscar nomination despite her omnipresence at the cineplex. Remember how much wow Dolly gave us compared to her co-nominees when she performed "Travelin' Through" from Transamerica on that Oscar telecast? UPDATE: Oh this is ineligible. WHOOPS! But hey Dolly has other songs int he film, including "Girl in the Movies"! Do that!
"Hearts Beat Loud" from Hearts Beat Loud
There isn't just one movie about a songwriting duo on the block this year. We've already discussed this father-daughter crowdpleaser at length in Soundtracking, but it's uplift hasn't been diminished over the months since. This one is a real earworm in the electro-indie mold - think Once with a Brooklyn bent. You can (and should!) catch up to the film on streaming service Kanopy which is FREE with a library card.
"Capital Letters" from Fifty Shades Freed
Hey, call me crazy, but the first Fifty Shades was nominated in this category and the sequel had to have been close as well for that Taylor Swift number. This one would at least guarantee a performance from Hailee Steinfeld, who we only ever want the best for. Maybe she could pull double duty for those ratings hungry folks at NBC and perform with Bumblebee, raising her up (baby, up we go!) above the crowd at the Dolby. Not convinced? Okay, then consider this: it's a damn bop.
"Flower of the Universe" from A Wrinkle in Time
While yours truly was more firmly on the pro side than most regarding the admittedly odd by quite original design craft throughout Ava DuVernay's A Wrinkle in Time, there was a moment of understated awe at its midpoint. And that stoicly emotional moment was christened gorgeously by the return of Sade, an underrated musical legend in her own right. Considering songwriters view the songs in context of their films, maybe this beauty could surprise.
"I'll Fight" from RBG
Bummed out that perennial Oscar nominee Diane Warren's song about butts and jeans from A Star Is Born is low on that film's song campaigning priority list? Have no fear, because Warren has something a little more prominant from another film: biodoc hit RBG. This track has probably the closest chance of a nomination of these contenders listed here (Nathaniel is currently predicting it), given Warren's pedigree, Hudson's star power, and the songwriting branch's willingness to look to documentaries to fill out the category. And, come on, we gotta get Warren that Oscar sometime!
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