BEYONCÉ, BILLIE, LIN AND MORE VIE FOR BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Every award season I like to share the Best Original Song nominees, and this year is a stacked list of strong contenders. Here are the nominees:
“Be Alive” from King Richard
Music and Lyric by DIXSON and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter
Beyoncé’s power anthem from King Richard is a dynamite hit song that easily captures the mood and determination of the film and the Williams family. This is her first Oscar nomination despite acting and writing songs for other movies.
“Dos Oruguitas” from Encanto
Music and Lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda
This was a big year at the movies for Lin-Manuel Miranda. Not only did we see an adaptation of his musical In the Heights, but he made his directorial debut with tick, Tick…BOOM! and wrote the music from Vivo and Encanto. This is Miranda’s second Oscar nomination following “How Far I’ll Go” from Moana a few years ago. Miranda would gain EGOT status if he won, but this song is far lesser known than the other smash hit from the movie, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”
“Down To Joy” from Belfast
Music and Lyric by Van Morrison
You don’t typically associate movie soundtracks with Van Morrison, but the legendary crooner supplied all the music to Kenneth Branagh’s very personal film. This is his first Oscar nomination, but I don’t see him winning as there isn’t a lot of buzz for this song.
“No Time To Die” from No Time to Die
Music and Lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell
The latest James Bond theme is a terrific song that rightly fits into Daniel Craig’s final outing as 007. The song was released long before anyone saw the movie, but I’ve come around to really enjoying what Eilish, Finneas and the team brought to such a daunting task. This is the first Oscar nomination for the Grammy winners but the last two themes “The Writing’s On the Wall” by Sam Smith and “Skyfall” by Adele both won Oscars.
“Somehow You Do” from Four Good Days
Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
This is Diane Warren’s 13th Oscar nomination! Some may say that’s an unlucky number, but maybe Warren will finally hear her name being called. As much as I do think this is a good song sung by Reba McEntire, there just isn’t the campaigning and push to get this song out there. It comes from a strong movie that’s currently streaming on Hulu, but not many people have seen it.
Who’s going to win? I honestly don’t know at this point. I was all-in last year with Leslie Odom Jr winning, but H.E.R. had a surprise win instead. It would be fun to see Lin-Manuel Miranda get an EGOT and everybody loves Encanto. Bond themes also perform well. If I was a voter, I’d give it to Beyoncé as “Be Alive” is such an empowering anthem to be the best you can be. And it’s a banger!