AND THE OSCAR FOR BEST ORIGINAL SONG GOES TO…

Every year I like to post the nominees for Best Original Song so you can listen to them before the big night in case you haven’t seen their nominated films. This year the clear favorite is La La Land, the new original musical that acts as an ode to the old MGM musicals and speaks to all of the big dreamers out there. La La Land scored nominations for both “City of Stars” and “The Audition (The Fools Who Dream)”. Both encapsulate the themes of the movie so well, but I prefer the latter song. If I were a betting man, I’d place money on “City of Stars” as that is the more whimsical of the two and uses some of the score’s main themes. Now, if the La La Land votes split among both songs, I could see Lin-Manuel Miranda winning instead for his Moana anthem “How Far I’ll Go”. It’s a catchy and inspiring number that could garner him EGOT status. An EGOT is a performer who has won the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. Without further adieu, here are the nominees:

“City of Stars” from La La Land
Composer: Justin Hurwitz
Lyricist: Benj Pasek & Justin Paul

“The Audition (The Fools Who Dream) from La La Land
Composer: Justin Hurwitz
Lyricist: Benj Pasek & Justin Paul

“How Far I’ll Go” from Moana
Composer/Lyricist: Lin-Manuel Miranda

“Can’t Stop the Feeling” from Trolls
Composers/Lyricists: Max Martin, Shellback, & Justin Timberlake

“The Empty Chair” from Jim: The James Foley Story
Composers/lyrics: J. Ralph, Sting