Quantcast

THE OSCAR SONG NOMINEES...A HISTORY LESSON

In the last five years, the Academy Awards’ Best Original Song category has become a fascinating horse race to dissect and prognosticate after years of ho-hum indifference interrupted by occasional star power. The 89th annual awards, which will be handed out Sunday within earshot of the HITS offices, offer a unique class of pop stars and musical theater aficionados, none of whom have ever won an Oscar.

Here’s a look at the nominees, their chances of winning and what history might tell us about their chances.

Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul for “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” and “City of Stars” from La La Land.

Interscope has had an impressive run with the La La Land soundtrack, hitting #1 on the HITS SPS and album sales charts. The last time a song winner came from a #1 album was three years ago, when Frozen’s “Let It Go” won the trophy for writers Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez.

You have to go back a bit further for the last time a win went to a song from a live-action musical—that was “You Must Love Me” from 1996’s Evita. In terms of a live-action performance in a film, though, we only need to strut back to “The Weary Kind,” T Bone Burnett and Ryan Bingham’s song from 2009’s Crazy Heart. That win was at the end of a run for songs performed in films, Slumdog Millionaire’s “Jai Ho” and 8 Mile’s “Lose Yourself” among them.

Receiving multiple noms is more rare than you might think: In the last 20 years, Enchanted and Dreamgirls received three each and The Princess and the Frog, Slumdog Millionaire and Cold Mountain had two apiece. Only Slumdog Millionaire won.

Justin Timberlake, Max Martin and Karl Johan Schuster (Shellback) for “Can’t Stop The Feeling” from Trolls.

One trend favors JT & crew: Three of the last six winners in the category have come from animated films. But the last time a superstar artist wrote and performed a winner was awhile ago: The 2000 ceremony when Phil Collins won for Tarzan’s “You’ll Be in My Heart.”

Big pop hits have not been among the nominees very often over the last two decades. Arguably, there have only been three: Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” from Titanic; Pharrell’s “Happy” from Despicable Me 2 and Le Ann Rimes’ version of “How Do I Live” from 1997’s Con Air. The Titanic track won; the other two did not.

J. Ralph and Sting for “The Empty Chair” from Jim: The James Foley Story.

How often have songs from documentaries been nominated in the list 10 years? Six.

How many were J. Ralph co-writes? Three.

How many have won? One. (Melissa Etheridge for “I Need to Wake Up”).

How many songs has Sting written and performed for films, not counting the current release Fifty Shades Darker? Five.

Nominations for Sting? Four. No wins yet, but perhaps this year's the charm.

Add to that the Academy’s traditionally short memory. Jim played Sundance in January 2016 and went to HBO two weeks later. The last time a February film had a song winner was Bob Dylan’s “Things Have Changed” from 2000’s Wonder Boys.

Lin-Manuel Miranda for “How Far I'll Go" from Moana.

With a win, Miranda will be the youngest EGOT winner in history. The last person to do it, Frozen’s Robert Lopez, also needed an Oscar to complete the feat, which he did with “Let It Go.” The two have other similarities—first wins were Tonys, a single Oscar nomination, and the nomination is for a Disney film.

Even more impressive, with a win, Miranda would join Richard Rodgers and Marvin Hamlisch as the only composers with a Pulitzer, Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.

NEAR TRUTHS: SPRING BLOOMS
Here come the big guns. (3/28a)
THE COUNT: COLDPLAY IS HOT, COUNTRY'S COOKIN' IN THE U.K.
The latest tidbits from the bustling live sector (3/28a)
CITY OF HOPE TAPS MARCIANO FOR TOP HONOR
This year's philanthropic model (3/28a)
TRUST IN THE TOP 20
Hip-hop is no longer hibernating. (3/28a)
UMG BROADENS SPOTIFY OFFERINGS
Sir Lucian and Daniel are in harmony. (3/28a)
THE NEW UMG
Gosh, we hope there are more press releases.
TIKTOK BANNED!
Unless the Senate manages to make this whole thing go away, that is.
THE NEW HUGE COUNTRY ACT
No, not that one.
TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN PLAYLIST
Now 100% unlicensed!
 Email

 First Name

 Last Name

 Company

 Country
CAPTCHA code
Captcha: (type the characters above)