Oscar for Best Original Song 2020—Present

[Disney's Divinity]

I know the winner at GG means nothing for how the Oscars will go, but, man, you know Miranda has got to be screaming that they didn't push "We Don't Talk About Bruno" right now!

[Sotiris]

Yeah, I though at least one more song from Disney would be selected. Finally, like in the animated short category, only one submitted work from Disney made it on to the list. In this case, "Dos Oruguitas" from Encanto, which is also the only song from the three Lin-Manuel Miranda had in contention to make the cut.

That's interesting because Nicholas Britell had two songs competing this year ("Call Me Cruella" and "Just Look Up") but only one of them made the cut too. The same goes for Diane Warren as well, as you know.

By the way, if anyone wants to listen to all the songs and like me has problems finding the one from Belfast, here it is: https://focusfeaturesguilds2021.com/belfast/song

Thanks for sharing it! I finally got the chance to listen to all 15 shortlisted songs. Here's how I'd rank them.

01. "Beyond the Shore" — CODA
02. "The Anonymous Ones" — Dear Evan Hansen
03. "No Time to Die" — No Time to Die
04. "Dream Girl" — Cinderella
05. "Just Look Up" — Don't Look Up
06. "Somehow You Do" — Four Good Days
07. "So May We Start?" — Annette
08. "Guns Go Bang" — The Harder They Fall
09. "Dos Oruguitas" — Encanto
10. "Down to Joy" — Belfast
11. "Your Song Saved My Life" — Sing 2
12. "Right Where I Belong" — Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road
13. "Automatic Woman" — Bruised
14. "Be Alive" — King Richard
15. "Here I Am (Singing My Way Home)" — Respect

[D82]

That's interesting because Nicholas Britell had two songs competing this year ("Call Me Cruella" and "Just Look Up") but only one of them made the cut too. The same goes for Diane Warren as well, as you know.

I hadn't realized Nicholas Britell also had two songs competing this year. Well, I'm glad my favorite from each composer is the one that made the cut. I know you preferred the other song by Diane Warren, though.

Here's my attempt at ranking the songs. I didn't look at yours until after making mine in order not to be influenced by it. I've ranked them by personal preference, which is how I make all my rankings, so it doesn't necessarily mean the songs I consider best are at the top. If I had tried to make an "objective" ranking, "Somehow You Do" or "Your Song Saved My Life", for example, would probably be a bit lower. Also, I might be a bit biased regarding my top two, as one of them is from Disney and the other by Diane Warren, who I really like, plus I've listened to those two much more than to the others, but I think they're my favorite.

01. "Dos Oruguitas" — Encanto
02. "Somehow You Do" — Four Good Days
03. "Your Song Saved My Life" — Sing 2
04. "No Time to Die" — No Time to Die
05. "Just Look Up" — Don't Look Up
06. "Guns Go Bang" — The Harder They Fall
07. "Down to Joy" — Belfast
08. "Right Where I Belong" — Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road
09. "Beyond the Shore" — CODA
10. "The Anonymous Ones" — Dear Evan Hansen
11. "Here I Am (Singing My Way Home)" — Respect
12. "Dream Girl" — Cinderella
13. "So May We Start?" — Annette
14. "Be Alive" — King Richard
15. "Automatic Woman" — Bruised

And these are my predictions for the Oscars:

"No Time to Die" — No Time to Die
"Dos Oruguitas" — Encanto
"Just Look Up" — Don't Look Up
"Guns Go Bang" — The Harder They Fall
"Down to Joy" — Belfast

I think "Be Alive" from King Richard also has a high chance, and I can also see them nominating "Somehow You Do", since they tend to like Diane Warren; "Right Where I Belong", which seems like something they would like, "Beyond the Shore" or "Your Song Saved My Life", for example, instead of one of the others.

[Sotiris]

The Oscar nominations are out. Very predictable outcome. I'm just glad Diane Warren got nominated again.

Best Original Song

"Be Alive" — King Richard
"Dos Oruguitas" — Encanto
"Down to Joy" — Belfast
"No Time to Die" — No Time to Die
"Somehow You Do" — Four Good Days

Best Original Score

Don't Look Up
Dune
Encanto
Parallel Mothers
Power of the Dog

Source: https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2022

[Farerb]

I think this is the first time a WDAS film is nominated for Best Score since Pocahontas.

[Sotiris]

^It's actually since Mulan. Encanto's score was generic and derivative and definately not worthy of a nomination. If it wasn't for all the hoopla in the press about the composer being Latina and the first woman to score a WDAS film, nobody would have cared about the film's forgettable score. Not to mention, there's a big ethical issue here with the Academy selecting scores from musicals when it suits their fancy despite it being against the rules.

[Disney's Divinity]

That makes sense considering "Mulan's Decision" is incredible.

I actually don't remember Encanto's score standing out the way several pieces of Raya's did (when Sisu runs on the raindrops, Raya entering Fang, then "Return"). I'm surprised they didn't push Encanto for song and Raya for score. I'm frankly surprised Tangled wasn't nominated for score; "Kingdom Dance" was one of the better pieces of score from the Revival. EDIT: I just read that part of your post about the rules, Sotiris, so that's why Tangled couldn't have been anyway. Of course, when Miranda is involved, there are always exceptions made in every way.

[Sotiris]

Of course, when Miranda is involved, there are always exceptions made in every way.

The same thing happened with La La Land, so it's more about the Academy making exceptions for their darling du jour.

[D82]

Not to mention, there's a big ethical issue here with the Academy arbitrarily selecting scores from musicals when it suits their fancy despite it being against the rules.

Yeah, that's really unfair. They should either allow all musicals to compete or none of them. I'm surprised too Encanto's score was nominated. There are some tracks I think are quite good, but I agree with Disney's Divinity that in general it doesn't stand out much. Although, Germaine Franco did a great job in Coco, in my opinion, so I'm glad she's getting some recognition. And I hadn't realized the last time a WDAS film was nominated for best score was more than 20 years ago! It was about time that changed.

The Oscar nominations are out. Very predictable outcome. I'm just glad Diane Warren got nominated again.

I'm so glad about that too. This time I wasn't too confident she would, so it was a nice surprise. I've looked it up and it's her 13th nomination in the category. Unfortunately, most likely she'll go home empty-handed as usual. I hope the award goes to "Dos Oruguitas", but I agree with estefan that "No Time to Die" is also very likely to win.

[Farerb]

From what I know the Academy changed the rule in 2016 so La La Land could compete, they haven't changed it back since then, so musical scores before 2016 weren't eligible, but they were afterwards. I think I remember that Disney did submit Moana and Frozen II to that category, they just weren't nominated.

[D82]

Yes, now they all can be submitted, but I think they need to get approved by a committee or something who decides if each score is eligible or not. What I don't know is if the list of ineligible titles is made public or not. Maybe I'm mistaken, but that's what I remember reading.

[Sotiris]

From what I know the Academy changed the rule in 2016 so La La Land could compete.

They never changed the rule. There was always a loophole in the rule by having a committee determine if the predominant use of songs diminished the impact of the score. You can see how that can be abused to favor certain people or movies.

I remember that Disney did submit Moana and Frozen II to that category, they just weren't nominated.

Frozen was also submitted in 2013 but got disqualified.

[estefan]

For those wondering, these are the animated films that have been nominated for Best Original Score since Mulan, A Bug's Life and The Prince of Egypt were nominated in '98:

2001: Monsters, Inc.
2003: Finding Nemo
2007: Ratatouille
2008: WALL-E
2009: Up, Fantastic Mr. Fox
2010: How to Train Your Dragon
2011: The Adventures of Tintin
2018: Isle of Dogs
2020: Soul
2021: Encanto

Regarding this year's Original Song nominees, there isn't one I'm particularly passionate about. I would probably rank "Dos Origuitas" the highest, but there are other songs I prefer in Encanto over that one. Of the songs submitted to the Oscars, "Just Look Up" was actually my favourite. I really liked the melody as well as the social commentary of the lyrics. I thought the message would help get it nominated (and Don't Look Up did get nominated in four categories, including Best Picture, so voters did respond to the movie), but alas.

In any case, I fully expect a number of Lin-Manuel Miranda, Billie Eillish or Beyonce Knowles stans to get really angry on social media if their fave doesn't win. They have intense fanbases.

[Disney's Divinity]

They never changed the rule. There was always a loophole in the rule by having a committee determine if the predominant use of songs diminished the impact of the score. You can see how that can be abused to favor certain people or movies.

It makes sense. The rule was only put there to block certain people they didn't like, not because they actually cared. Naturally they will overlook the rule for people they want to favor whether or not they're deserving (Miranda).

I'm also surprised "Just Look Up" wasn't nominated. It or WDTAB should've been the winner this year, and yet neither are even in the category. Meanwhile, Encanto gets a score nom despite already being in the Song category (and entirely without merit at that) What a mess.

[estefan]

Diane Warren is finally getting an Oscar, as the Academy announced they will be giving her an Honorary Oscar.

According to the article, she is also the first songwriter to be given an Honorary Oscar.

[D82]

I'm happy for her. She deserves this recognition. I hope she can still win a competitive Oscar someday as well, but if that doesn't happen, since it's not something easy to get, at least she has an honorary one now.

[Sotiris]

I found the gesture a bit insulting, to be honest. Like the Academy decided to just give her an Oscar to stop the negative press about her being the most-nominated woman without a win and the backlash they get every time she loses. Not to mention, to put an end to her own pleading for it whenever she gets nominated. It seems like they are giving this to her to shut her up. Especially since songwriters have never been given the Governors award before. Warren still has a very active career and a lot of opportunities to win a competitive Oscar. Giving her an honorary one now is premature at best and comes off as a consolation prize.

[D82]

Well, to be honest, it did seem a bit premature to me too. It's true that honorary Oscars aren't generally seen as valuable as competitive ones, but not everyone gets them either and it's better than nothing. I wonder how Diane feels about it. Anyway, I don't think this will prevent her from trying to get a victory in the Best Song category.

[D82]

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will feature a new song performed and co-written by Rihanna which is a tribute to Chadwick Boseman. It'll be released this Friday, so we'll soon see how it is, but it sounds like it could be a strong contender in the category.

Rihanna Leads The 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' Soundtrack With New Original Song “Lift Me Up”
https://www.marvel.com/articles/movies/ ... lift-me-up

[Disney's Divinity]

I don't consider myself a Rihanna fan--I mean, I like several songs by her, but anyone could've sung them and I'd have liked them, I'm not a fan of her specifically--still I am interested to hear this since it's a tribute to Boseman. I will watch the sequel, too, just to see how they handle the character's death in-story, but probably won't follow the franchise after that. He made the franchise and he's not going to be easily replaced, imo.