So here we are. Deep in the heart of awards season, with the Academy getting ready to pass out their golden statuettes this weekend.
As Slacker’s (arguably) most pop-culture obsessed curator, I want to talk to you about this year’s Academy Award nominated songs (best original song), and who I think will (probably)(maybe)(most likely) win.
Let’s start at the top, alphabetically speaking:
“Before My Time” from “Chasing Ice”
Music and Lyric by J. Ralph
This song features Scarlett Johansson & Joshua Bell – the latter, in case you don’t recognize the name, is a grammy award winning violinist. Scarlett sings this haunting track that plays over the credits of the documentary about climate change in Greenland, which was expected to earn a nomination for Best Documentary Feature, but was left off of that list. The academy might want to throw it a bone in this category, but more likely this just wasn’t high profile enough to win this year. You never know. Could be a dark horse.
“Everybody Needs A Best Friend” from “Ted”
Music by Walter Murphy; Lyric by Seth MacFarlane
Can I be honest here and say that if Seth MacFarlane wins an oscar I’m probably going to boycott these awards for the rest of my life? That being said, this is a sweet throwback to the 40’s sung by Norah Jones. Despite the fact that he’s hosting this year, I just feel like the Academy knows better than to RECOGNIZE SETH MACFARLANE. EVER. Or I hope so, at least.
“Pi’s Lullaby” from “Life of Pi”
Music by Mychael Danna; Lyric by Bombay Jayashri
Everyone I know who read this book (including myself) got super excited about the movie, and then came out of it feeling… OK? Not amazing, not entirely disappointed, just… I think at that point we all finally recognized the challenges of making a story almost entirely set in a boat in the middle of the ocean interesting for 2 hours. Anyway, this song is ok, but it’s nothing compared to the final contenders.
“Suddenly” from “Les Misérables”
Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg; Lyric by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil
Listen, nobody ever likes the new song added to these productions, especially one as tried and true as Les Mis. I’ve been a fan of the musical since 8th grade and there’s no way this song was going to stir me in the way “I Dreamed A Dream” or “On My Own” would. It’s not even exhilarating in the way “Do You Hear The People Sing” is. But they had to nominate something in this category from the film (or look kind of silly) and this is the only new, original song in it. Probably added explicitly for the purpose of getting nominated for this exact award. This song could win – it’s got the star power and the promotion behind it, but my bet is safely on…
“Skyfall” from “Skyfall”
Music and Lyric by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth
Awards shows love Adele. They don’t just love her, they luuuuuuuuve her. They want to marry her. And not only do we have a big ol’ crush on Adele, we have a societal obligation to love James Bond films. This was an amazing flick, with a perfect, old school sounding theme song. It’s *almost* too obvious, but I think Adele is going to win it (as usual.) It’s not so hard to imagine Adele going on to perform on Broadway at some point, where she’ll win a Tony. Then just throw a television appearance or two into the mix, and Adele is certain to be the world’s next EGOT winner.
But before I get ahead of myself, let’s review.
Will win: “Skyfall”
Could win: “Suddenly”
Should win: “Skyfall”
Obviously I could be wrong about all of this, so feel free to speak up and share your predictions – plus your arguments for or against – in the comments! Also make sure to check out the new Oscar Movie Music Station on Slacker Radio for more scores, themes and songs of the greatest cinematic masterpieces
