Sorry,“Why Did You Do That?” stans, but Ally’s butt song won’t be winning any Oscars this year. Warner Bros. had some intense decisions to make when it came to choosing which original songs from their smash-hitA Star Is Bornwould be campaigned for Best Original Song consideration at the Oscars, and they’ve now narrowed the list down to three tracks. While the stellar (and blockbuster) soundtrack has plenty of great songs to choose from, Warner Bros. chose fairly predictably when it came to picking out their best bets.
The three songs and their respective songwriter credits (i.e. the folks who get the Oscar if the song wins) are as follows:
“Shallow” written byLady Gaga,Mark Ronson,Anthony Rossomando, andAndrew Wyatt.
“I’ll Never Love Again” written by Lady Gaga,Natalie Hemby,Hillary Lindsey, andAaron Raitiere
“Always Remember Us This Way” written by Lady Gaga, Natalie Hemby, Hillary Lindsey, andLori McKenna
Obviously “Shallow” is the frontrunner not just from these three songs, but from the entire pack of contenders. While the Best Original Song category can be finicky from time to time (remember Lady Gaga previously lost out toSam Smith’s wholly forgettableSpectresong), when it comes to songs from actual musicals or films in which the song is literally sung by characters, they rarely miss. Especially when said song also happens to be a hit single on the radio.
“I’ll Never Love Again” was also an obvious pick, and “Always Remember Us This Way” makes sense as well, but the lack of Jackson Maine songs here means director/star/writerBradley Cooperwon’t be getting those five nominations that some were anticipating. Indeed, Cooper is a credited co-writer on most of Jackson Maine’s songs, but not on the three songs submitted here. Oh well, I suppose he’ll have to settle forjustbeing nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
My guess is that both “Shallow” and “I’ll Never Love Again” get nominated, and “Shallow” takes home the gold. I’m not sure there’s much of an argument to be made that these two songs being nominated would split the votes, not only because “Shallow” is so darn popular, but becauseLa La Landhad two viable nominees a couple of years ago and still won for “City of Stars.”
Take a listen to the threeA Star Is BornOscar songs below, and you may probably go ahead and check “Shallow” on your final predictions ballot right about now.
