Welcome to this year’s edition of Last Cinema Standing’s Countdown to the Oscars, where we will break down each of the 23 categories, analyze the films, and make some guesses at their awards prospects.
Best Original Song
The nominees are:
“It Never Went Away” from American Symphony
“I’m Just Ken” from Barbie
“What Was I Made For?” from Barbie
“The Fire Inside” from Flamin’ Hot
“Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” from Killers of the Flower Moon
“It Never Went Away”
One of things I love about this project every year is the discovery of fascinating tidbits of information I would have never known otherwise. Case in point: the wildly successful career of Dan Wilson, who co-wrote this song with documentary subject Jon Batiste. Wilson previously won the Grammy for song of the year as a co-writer of The Chicks’ “Not Ready to Make Nice.” He also won album of the year for producing Adele’s 21. But, most of us probably know him best as the writer of “Closing Time,” from his days with his band Semisonic.
This is a classic “credits song for a documentary” nomination, and the song is pretty good, though not among the best of either artist’s work. Still, for a ‘90s kid who loves rock music, it’s pretty damn cool that the “Closing Time” guy has an Oscar nomination now. You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here, indeed.
“I’m Just Ken”
Greta Gerwig really pulled out all the stops in putting together the music team for Barbie, which is not quite a musical but sure is inspired by a lot of musicals. We’ll get to “What Was I Made For?” in a second, but first, let’s marvel at the work of nominated song writing duo Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, who previously won this award as co-writers with Lady Gaga and Anthony Rossoando on “Shallow,” from A Star Is Born.
Personally, I’m stoked Ryan Gosling has confirmed he will perform this song on the Academy Awards stage. I predict it will be one of the showstopping moments of the night, much like “Naatu Naatu” was last year. This is actually my preferred winner this year. As beautiful as the Billie Eilish performance is on the other nominated Barbie song, the execution of “I’m Just Ken” is narratively crucial. A huge section of the movie falls flat if this song isn’t perfect. Luckily, it is.
“What Was I Made For?”
But, even with that said, I understand how Eilish and co-writer Finneas O’Connell have taken the lead in this category with their heartfelt ballad. It is a well-constructed song that the duo has been promoting the hell out of – I thought their performance at the Grammys was particularly engaging. The song also has pride of place in the film, playing over the emotional climax of the story as Barbie finally makes a choice about her future. Eilish and O’Connell walk a fine line with a composition that is appropriately melancholic without ever tipping into the maudlin. It really is impressive stuff.
“The Fire Inside”
If the music branch can’t be bothered to do anything different, neither can I. Here is, word for word, exactly what I wrote last year:
“This is the Diane Warren song this year. Here is, word for word, exactly what I wrote about her nomination last year:
“At a certain point, one really has to feel for the Music Branch – not me, I don’t have any sympathy for a branch that so consistently gets this category wrong. But, members really, really love Diane Warren, and they seem positively desperate to get her an Oscar. This is the fifth consecutive year in which Warren has received a nomination and seventh out of the previous eight. She has 12 total nominations and no wins. She probably could have won for “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” from Armageddon or “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” from Mannequin, but she didn’t. So, here we are in an endless cycle of nominating not very good work every year just to try to get her over that hill.
“This brings us to ‘Somehow You Do,’ which not only is not very good, but it is actually quite bad. More than that, it is part of a pretty bad movie. Ironically, the song’s lack of subtlety is kind of a perfect fit for the generically somber addiction drama that is Four Good Days. Once again, Warren will be a bridesmaid, and even if I can muster no sympathy for the Music Branch, I do feel a little bad for Warren having to get dressed up every damn year just to lose an award.
“Let me update the numbers for you: This is six consecutive years, eight out of nine, and 13 total nominations with no competitive wins. She does have an Oscar now, as this very year she was the recipient of an honorary award. That did not satisfy her peers, who are demanding she be voted queen for a day at the big show. It ain’t gonna happen. I haven’t watched Tell It Like a Woman. I probably won’t. But, I listened to this song, and once again, it was quite bad. There’s probably nothing to be done about this situation, so perhaps the Academy would be best off just reserving a couple seats for Warren every year.”
Every year this happens, this section is just going to keep getting longer. Once more, an update on the numbers: Seven years in a row now. Nine of the past 10. 14 nominations and no competitive wins. It ain’t gonna happen this year either. At least Flamin’ Hot is pretty watchable, which can’t be said for many of the films she’s been nominated for recently. Anyway, whatever.
“Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)”
Indigenous musician Scott George is the first Osage performer ever nominated in this category. Translated from the Osage language, George says the lyrics to the song mean: “Stand up, be tall, and be proud. We’re still here.” It’s a powerful message that Scorsese uses over the final images of the film, an Osage drum circle that represents exactly that: a community of people who suffered unimaginable tragedy but who are still here, standing tall.
The final analysis
This is primarily a Barbie fight, and it’s actually surprising that the third big song from the movie – Ronson and Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night” – did not manage to nab a nomination, as well. I guess they just had to find a place for Warren.
I find that a good way to jump to the front of the line when a movie has multiple song nominations is to be the big ballad. The fun song gets nominated, but the ballad wins. I’m looking at a trio of Disney contenders from the early ‘90s that prove this point rather well: “Beauty and the Beast” won the award over the also nominated “Be Our Guest” and “Belle”; for Aladdin, “A Whole New World” beat “Friend Like Me”; and for The Lion King, “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” beat both “Circle of Life” and “Hakuna Matata.”
Now, in every one of those cases, I prefer the fun song. Give me “Be Our Guest,” “Friend Like Me,” and “Hakuna Matata” all day, every day. And while we’re at it, throw in “I’m Just Ken.” Alas, it pays to be the ballad. Eilish and O’Connell won this award two years ago for their James Bond song, “No Time to Die,” and look well on their way to another victory.
It will be a history-making win for Eilish, who at 22 years old will become the youngest two-time winner in Academy Awards history. Her 26-year-old older brother O’Connell will be the second-youngest two-time winner. Both will push ahead of Louise Rainer, who had earned her second Best Actress trophy by the age of 28.
And, just for the sake of providing more fun trivia, when Eilish won this award two years ago at the age of 20, she became the second-youngest Original Song winner ever. She was roughly three months older than Markéta Irglová was when she won this category for “Falling Slowly” from Once in 2008 (for the films of 2007), four days before her 20th birthday.
Will win: “What Was I Made For?” from Barbie
Should win: “I’m Just Ken” from Barbie
Should have been here: “Live That Way Forever” from The Iron Claw
A note about my favorite snub: Sean Durkin’s excellent wrestling biopic came out a little too late in the year to pick up steam with the Academy, which is a shame given it could have done well in a number of categories with just a little more momentum. The actors have received the lion’s share of the attention around “snubs,” but I want to take a second to highlight Richard Lee Parry and Laurel Sprengelmeyer’s rock anthem “Live That Way Forever.” It’s a lovely composition that Durkin integrates into the film in ways that are both narratively and thematically satisfying. More of this, please.
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