Best Original Song: Ranking Every Oscar Nominee
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
Oh.
Goody.
My least favourite category of the Academy Awards.
In general, I find Best Original Song to be the most boring and vapid category of the Oscars. Year after year, so many mediocre (or flat out awful) films get nominated just because a famous so-and-so got asked to pen a song for them. It’s a little bit different when a bad film does well in the makeup department and gets recognized for it, because these original songs are often slapped at the end of features during the credits, so the bare minimum for Oscar eligibility is fulfilled (this includes an official release of said song as well, and let’s not forget the other requirements like it has to be a brand new song specifically written for a film). Anyway. Ignore my belching. I can at least say that the majority of the songs nominated this year at least seem worthwhile on their own, and maybe one or two songs actually feel relevant within their film (because they aren’t just placed over the credits), but I’ll be a little more lenient with my expectations in this regard this year (considering the majority of the songs here are outros to feature films). Here are your nominees.
Biggest Snub: “Nothing is Lost (You Give Me Strength)” from Avatar: The Way of Water
I don’t think this was a sure winner or anything, but The Weeknd’s song for Avatar: The Way of Water was as good as credits music got in 2022. Considering the high profile nature of both the artist and the film (also the song, “Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)”, has had quite a good reception), I was expecting this song to land a nomination. It didn’t, and I’m not super bummed out about it or anything. I just would have been a little happy if it had made it. A very close second for biggest snub goes to Pinocchio’s “Ciao Papa”, which actually was in the film and is a good song to boot: a little puzzled as to how that didn’t get nominated either.
5. “Applause” from Tell it Like a Woman-Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
I’ve actually seen Tell it Like a Woman but can’t really go into the film, as I’ve been asked to have my review under embargo until a future date. What I will do is briefly discuss Diane Warren’s song, “Applause”, that gets featured quite prominently throughout this anthology of seven short films directed by women from numerous countries. I do like that the song can be sculpted into different styles to match the various shorts, and the basic lyrics (simple in their design as to allow for easier genre shifting) still bring home the idea of female empowerment and celebration. However, I do think this is one of Warren’s plainer songs. Outside of the customization factor and how fitting the song is in context, I personally feel like Warren has achieved better before. It’s a decent song, but I feel like this nod is just a part of Diane Warren’s annual nomination tradition at the Academy Awards at this point.
My review for Tell it Like a Woman is still under embargo. Stay tuned for that. No pun intended.
4. ”Hold my Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick-Music and Lyric by Lady Gaga and BloodPop
I actually like “Hold My Hand” quite a bit. I think Lady Gaga and BloodPop don’t try to recreate “Take My Breath Away” (from the original Top Gun, by Giorgio Moroder and Berlin), which is easily one of the greatest original songs ever written for the big screen. Instead, Mother Monster goes for a similar vibe that really does a great job at replicating the nostalgia, ambition, and triumph of both Top Gun: Maverick and the original film. This isn’t “Take My Breath Away”, sure, but it is definitely an accomplished mission (to end this tribute of a film with a bang and appropriately) that I am happy has done well in its own right.
3. ”Naatu Naatu” from RRR-Music by M.M. Keeravaani, Lyric by Chandrabose
I think “Naatu Naatu” is a really fun song, although I do have a love/hate relationship with it living rent free in my head (trying to get to sleep when all I can hear is NAATUNAATUNAATUNAATUNAATUNAATUNAATU is not always fun). Still, this ear worm banger is electrifying. I will say that the actual sequence this song is a part of is why it is so spectacular: the dance choreography is mind blowing, and some of the best I’ve seen in a film in a very long time. In context, “Naatu Naatu” is a slam dunk: a happy-go-lucky song about persevering past nonsense and getting by in style set to a dance that is even more likeable. Out of context, “Naatu Naatu” is still a good song, although I have heard from quite a few naysayers that Tollywood definitely has better to offer (on that note, I am definitely not an expert, so I won’t let them poop on my parade).
2. ”This is a Life” from Everything Everywhere All at Once-Music by Ryan Lott, David Byrne and Mitski, Lyric by Ryan Lott and David Byrne
Mitski is my favourite artist nominated here (well, unless we include David Byrne’s band Talking Heads), so I was always going to at least partially like whatever song both artists created for Everything Everywhere All at Once. With the help of Son Lux, the trio made “This is a Life”: an unorthodox ballad that is as transformative as the film it is associated with. It is equal parts endearing, strange, and saddening. It’s yet another credits sequence song, I know, but at least this feels like the entire film is perfectly encapsulated in the form of a short tune (the cover art being Jobu Tupaki’s everything donut is quite fitting as well). I hope this means that Mitski is going to pen more songs for films down the road, no matter who she works with.
Cameron Geiser’s review of Everything Everywhere All at Once
1. ”Lift me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever-Music by Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler and Ludwig Goransson, Lyric by Tems and Ryan Coogler
Say what you want about these Black Panther films, but their nominated original songs have been two for two in my opinion: I love both of them. “All the Stars” by Kendrick Lamar and SZA is one of my favourite original songs of the previous decade, and Rihanna’s “Lift Me Up” (with help from all of the above collaborators) is also great. It’s another ballad, and it’s reserved for the credits of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, but this song is so beautiful and emotionally gripping that I just can’t take away any points. It resonates the somber tone of the film so eloquently and it feels like a tremendous sendoff for a Marvel film that asks for a little more soul searching than the studios usually demand from us. Love the song, what it stands for, and how it left me sitting in my seat and going through the motions after the film.
Who I want to win: The short answer is any of these songs. Diane Warren’s song wasn’t my favourite, but can the Academy please stop pulling her along with all of these nominations without any competitive wins? It feels sadistic at this point. Otherwise, I actually… yeah… I actually love all of the other four songs for different reasons. I’ll stick with “Lift Me Up”, but I know it likely won’t win.
Who I think will win: Because India dropped the ball by not selecting RRR to represent the nation for Best International Feature Film, I think all attention has been placed on this song doing well on behalf of the entire film. It’s done well so far, and I expect it to keep winning. The only possible winner I can see otherwise is “Hold My Hand” swooping in for the award, but I don’t think it’s very likely at this point.
Tune in tomorrow for our next Academy Award category! We’re reviewing every single nominee on every weekday.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Toronto Metropolitan University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.