Oscar Blitz 2025 – Original Song

It truly boggles my mind how the Music Branch operates, at least as it relates to the Original Song category. I’m not just talking about the annual chicanery that is the customary Diane Warren nomination, though that’s a rant I could go on for days. I’m talking about the category as a whole. It seems like year after year there’s just no variety anymore, and it results in historically weak fields like this one.

According to the actual rules and guidelines set by the Academy, the branch is supposed to consider the overall musical quality of the submitted songs, as well as their context within the associated film, with an official restriction that only the first song that plays over the credits can be eligible, otherwise it must be within the body of the movie. In practice, here’s what appears to be the actual criteria they look for:

1. Legacy Candidates – As much as I harp on Diane Warren, she’s not the first to get this preferential treatment. Randy Newman was nominated eight times before he finally won, and three more times before he got his second victory. He’s only been nominated once since, but it’s clear he’s got a lot of friends on the board, so to speak. Not too shabby for a man whose entire career has been a meme about him dopily singing about what he sees.
2. Disney – This trend has somewhat abated of late, but it’s the reason for pretty much all of Newman’s nominations and wins, as well as Alan Menken and tons of composers and lyricists from the old school. Part of the reason why the rules were changed to limit a film to two nominations and three on the shortlist was because Enchanted marked two years in a row where a single movie got three nods and none of them won (the previous year it was Dreamgirls). There’s only been one Disney nominee this decade (“Dos Oruguitas” from Encanto), but there was a time when it wasn’t a matter of if a Disney track would get nominated, but which one would win.
3. Bond Themes – For whatever reason, the branch decided that from Skyfall on, every main theme from a James Bond movie would be nominated and win, even if it sucked. It’s a box check at this point, an easy default where they think that it’ll draw more viewers to the broadcast, especially if their favorite pop star wins. Speaking of…
4. Current Pop Stars – The trend used to be to nominate radio-friendly ballads, which tied back to Disney. During the studio’s 90s renaissance, it was common practice to have the “real” version of a song inside the movie, then bring Celine Dion or Peabo Bryson into a recording studio to make an “adult contemporary” radio cover, which also played over the credits. Since “My Heart Will Go On,” however (as well as “Lose Yourself” if I’m being fair to all genres), it’s been about what big name performers can be commissioned to sing the track, whether they’re nominated as a writer or not, in hopes of a “break the internet” moment of them performing it during the ceremony. They got it once, when Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper all but made out while performing “Shallow.” Otherwise it’s nothing but generic blandness, and of late, we don’t even get the performances as intended. “Shallow” itself is a prime example, because it was the only one of the nominees that year that got to be delivered in full. The others were reduced to cut-downs. During the pandemic, the nominated songs were done in pre-recorded segments like a New Year’s Eve show. Even this year, in a completely tone deaf response to the local wildfires, the song performances were pulled in favor of introspective thoughts from the nominees, which makes no sense, especially when the Academy then booked other pop stars for wholly separate performances that have no relevance to the award itself. The branch obviously couldn’t know that when they voted, but they definitely vote for what they feel will draw eyeballs, and of course it never works.
5. Documentaries – This is an odd one, but it’s popped up several times since Melissa Etheridge won for her ending track to An Inconvenient Truth. Every once in a while, including this year, you get a random entry – usually pop – attached to the back end of a documentary, and oftentimes it’s a documentary that no one even saw, much less liked. Be honest. Did you see The Hunting Ground? How about Jim: The James Foley Story? No? Well what about RBG? Racing Extinction? Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me? If you did, I applaud you, because most of those weren’t even shortlisted by the Documentary Branch.
6. Musicals – New, original musicals essentially get two nominations locked, because that’s the limit, and so the branch can say it chose songs that were actually IN the story and obfuscate the rest of the shenanigans. Adaptations of existing stage shows often get one as well, if an original is written for the movie version. They typically play over the credits rather than the filmmakers creating a new scene to accommodate the number.

You know what you didn’t see in that list? Good songs that are actually germane to the plot and characters! It’s a formula at this point, feeling more like an afterthought than an honest effort to honor great music in film. You occasionally get a pleasant deviation from the norm like a “Naatu Naatu,” but that is very much the exception rather than the rule at this stage. Sadly, it ripples out from the branch into the industry as a whole. If the Music Branch can’t even be bothered to follow its own rules, or if they’re just going to default to pop stars and Diane Warren every year, why should any production bother to incorporate original music? It’s become transactional, so much so that we actually see press releases when studios and producers contract Warren and others to write songs after the movie’s already been made. It’s a race to try to buy a nomination for the false prestige rather than a genuine effort to enhance a quality product. We might as well not even have the category if this is how they’re going to go about it.

This year’s nominees for Original Song are…

“El Mal” from Emilia Pérez – Music by Clément Ducol and Camille; Lyrics by Ducol, Camille, and Jacques Audiard

This song, which is somehow the front-runner for this award, is a microcosm of everything wrong with Emilia Pérez. First, the “melody” is basically atonal talk-singing, which is annoying as hell, especially because most of it is half-whispered, like a shitty attempt at ASMR, which causes me physical pain. Within that is a lot of rhythmic heavy breath deliveries, which reminded me of the interlude from Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus” mixed with the opening to Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” only it sucks. Second, the lyrics are about Zoe Saldaña’s Rita fantasizing about calling out all the corrupt men who are making performative gestures towards charity and altruism while secretly engaging in bribery and worse crimes. This would be fine if not for the LITERAL CARTEL LEADER AND MURDERER STANDING IN HONOR AT THE DAIS WHO SHE WILLINGLY WORKS FOR AND CALLS FRIEND! The cognitive dissonance and hypocrisy is staggering.

Third, the mix is awful, with more volume and dynamics given to the people pounding on the table than the actual music. Fourth, this is a perfect example of the harmful stereotyping Jacques Audiard employed throughout the movie. He’s depicting Mexico as a kleptocracy and lawless state, where every single person of means only attained it through crime and drugs. No wonder everyone in Mexico hated it. Finally, as we’ve learned since the nominations came out, this was one of the numbers where Karla Sofía Gascón’s voice was altered using generative AI because she couldn’t hit the notes. This is a 100% failure.

So why is it going to almost certainly win? Well, because Zoe Saldaña’s almost certainly going to win Supporting Actress. The Academy has decided in the wake of the backlash against Emilia Pérez that Saldaña is the one forgivable element, and so to save face, they’ll reward pretty much any aspect involving her. Whatever.

“The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight – Music and Lyrics by Diane Warren

And now, a dramatic reading from the lyrics of “The Journey.” Ahem…

It’s the journey.
It’s the journey.
It’s the jourNAY.
It’s the journey.
It’s the jou-ou-ou-ou-ourNAY!
It’s the journey.

I exaggerate, but you can tell from the video that I’m not far off. I have no idea why H.E.R. allowed herself to be attached to this dreck, as she’s already got an Oscar in her own right in this category, having beaten Diane Warren a few years ago, and as the performer she wouldn’t even be given one here. And as usual, the song was a tacked-on commission after the movie was finished, so it has no actual bearing on the story. Not that it would matter, though, as The Six Triple Eight is the lowest-rated film nominated this year, with a “rotten” score of 54% on Rotten Tomatoes, certifying it as utterly forgettable and meaningless.

The song, like pretty much every Diane Warren nomination, is just another amalgam of her previously nominated tracks. The percussion and sweeping strings are reminiscent of “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” “There You’ll Be,” and “How Do I Live,” the overall message of perseverance through generic platitudes is straight out of “Grateful,” “Applause,” “Somehow You Do,” “I’ll Fight,” and “Io Si (Seen).” Hell, the chorus essentially borrows from last year’s nominee, “The Fire Inside.” When I say that she gets nominated every year for the exact same goddamn song, I mean it.

Also, “It’s the getting there to where you’re going to” just breaks my brain as a writer. If this somehow wins, I see a world where a million English teachers ritually kill themselves because clearly language is dead.

“Like a Bird” from Sing Sing – Music and Lyrics by Abraham Alexander and Adrian Quesada

This isn’t the greatest song I’ve ever heard, but in a field this weak, it’s by far the best. Unlike “The Journey,” the use of repetitive lyrics here makes thematic sense in relation to the film, as the story is about rising above the cycle of dehumanization that is the prison industrial complex, not to mention the “freedom” imagery associated with birds. Divine G takes Divine Eye under his proverbial wing, and promises to mentor him through the RTA program so that he can be a better man when he gets out. So in that respect, the refrain of “I give you my word/try, try, try/fly like a bird/fly, fly, fly” fits the overall message. It’s not exactly insightful, but it gets the job done.

The actual musicality of the song is pretty darn good, though. Abraham Alexander’s soulful voice and acoustic guitar mix really well with Adrian Queseda’s Latin-infused electric blues, the latter showing off some Carlos Santana influence. It makes for a mix that’s easy to listen to and just groove in your chair a little bit. Like all but the two Emilia Pérez tracks, this song plays over the ending and into the credits, but as that goes, this does the best job of summing up the themes and the story.

Also, if we can somehow promote this song enough so that it overtakes the insipid Nelly Furtado abomination from 25 years ago in our collective consciousness, that’d be great.

“Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez – Music and Lyrics by Clément Ducol and Camille

I’m not a fan of Selena Gomez. Never have been. But I don’t hate this. I don’t exactly love it, but “Mi Camino” has the distinction of being the one song from Emilia Pérez that I don’t openly despise. Also, it’s the only song that sounds like an actual fucking song. It’s generic pop, with a nice melody and a good, danceable beat. And again, while I’m no Gomez fan, she sings it well, even in the moments where she’s supposed to sing it badly.

That’s the other reason why I kind of like this number. It represents the one genuine human moment in the entire film, the only time the actors perform like real people rather than stylized and insulting talking points. After being whisked away to Switzerland with her children after “Manitas” fakes his death to become Emilia, Jessi’s life is basically in flux. She can never settle anywhere and just be herself, in whatever form she wishes that to take. If there’s one salient point in Emilia Pérez, it’s in exploring how the title character does so much to “become” a woman that she doesn’t even notice that she’s stealing that from Rita and Jessi. You have to be careful not to let that idea slip into regressive trans stereotyping, as you can easily make the leap from that fact (and many detractors have) to the movie depicting the trans community as being inherently selfish, which plays right into the hands of the bigots. Emilia herself is intolerably self-centered, not trans people in general, a nuance Jacques Audiard failed spectacularly to convey.

Anyway, by the time Rita brings Jessi and the kids back to Mexico, their lives have had time to change, so once again Jessi is thrown back into chaos. Her one outlet to escape that is Gustavo, her ex-lover from when she was still married to Manitas. Thinking that she’s finally free of the dangers and fears associated with being tied to a cartel chief, we see her at this karaoke bar just singing a silly song with her boyfriend and being happy. A lot has been made of Gomez’s lack of linguistic skills in her performance – which I obviously didn’t detect as I don’t speak Spanish, but I trust those who do – but here you could argue it’s endearing and helps humanize her character. She’s just a young woman getting a chance at a real life for the first time ever, and she’s enjoying herself, even if that means stumbling over lyrics that aren’t in her native tongue. Like I said, this is far from a great tune, but if we have to give the Oscar to this movie, I’d much prefer this over “El Mal.”

“Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late – Music and Lyrics by Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt, and Bernie Taupin

When “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” won the Oscar a few years ago, it was a watershed moment, as it was the first major award that Elton John and Bernie Taupin had won together. Some say it was when they won the Golden Globe for the same song, but in no universe are the Globes a “major” award. It’s EGOT or nothing, folks, and you certainly shouldn’t count any prize where the deciders are 100 people who are easily bribed.

Anyway, I really hope they enjoyed that honor, because they sure as hell aren’t winning it for “Never Too Late.” Don’t get me wrong, I love Elton and Bernie. I was raised on their music since I was four. I also really like Brandi Carlile. She’s an amazing singer and songwriter. But I’m sorry, this track is just, well, boring as fuck.

The piano melody is reminiscent of the slower tracks on Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, while the lyrics are more blasé like on The One and Songs from the West Coast. There’s a wistfulness within them, but they’re kind of contradictory to the overall premise of the Never Too Late film. The documentary is about Elton John’s retirement from touring. After five decades in music, he’s decided to settle down and focus on being a husband and father, and over the course of the movie we see him slowing down, contrasted with the insane high energy he maintained during his early days. That’s just aging, but the song doesn’t really convey that. I mean, who goes on “a thousand first dates”? I don’t even assume I have 1,000 days left on this planet, much less the charisma to get to go on that many dates, so yeah, I can safely assume it is too late for that lofty goal.

I contrast this with one of Elton’s most famous contemporaries, Billy Joel. Joel has essentially been in a state of semi-retirement since 1993’s River of Dreams. He still tours, including several successful ones with Elton under the “Piano Man/Rocket Man” banner, and he puts out the occasional compilation album. He also released an album of classical piano music performed by one of his students back in 2001. But apart from that, he’s been largely silent on new music. Then last year he released “Turn the Lights Back On,” his first single since 2007, and his first hit since 1997. It was literally about wondering if he had spent too much time away from his craft, testing the waters to see if he still had something to say, and it was my favorite song of last year.

“Never Too Late,” on the other hand, feels like an acknowledgement that it’s time to step aside, while leaving the door open for a return, which defeats the purpose of a feature-length goodbye message. It’s almost like sequel bait, but unlike “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again,” it doesn’t have nearly the fire or passion that reminds fans why he’s such a unique artist in the first place. This just plays like a B-side, a track you can put on in the background and ignore. If that’s the note Elton goes out on, it’s not a good one. We want to remember him as Captain Fantastic, not like this.

***

So yeah, this is not an exciting field. Most of the songs are mediocre at best, nothing really has any great energy, four of them are associated with subpar films, and only one is even remotely memorable for purely positive reasons. This is what happens when you don’t police the individual branches, Academy. The Music Branch just phoned this one completely in according to their own algorithm, and the public has decidedly tuned out. I’m guessing this is why they felt the need to book Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande to do an entire medley of Wicked songs, as well as what feels like a ghastly trio of Doja Cat, Raye, and Lisa from Blackpink for some unknown performance rather than presenting the actual nominated songs. I feel another “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” fiasco coming on.

My Rankings:
1) “Like a Bird”
2) “Mi Camino”
3) “Never Too Late”
4) “El Mal”
5) “The Journey”

Who do you think should win? Vote now in the poll below!

Up next, we’ve finally made it to the end, with the last breakdown of the season before we head into Oscar Weekend. It’s been a long time coming, but remember, it’s the journey, it’s the journey, it’s the JOURNAY! It’s Best Picture!

Join the conversation in the comments below! What do you look for in movie songs? What tracks were tragically overlooked from last year? How can “El Mal” be the best song if it says right in the title that it’s bad? Let me know! And remember, you can follow me on Twitter (fuck “X”) as well as Bluesky, and subscribe to my YouTube channel for even more content, and check out the entire BTRP Media Network at btrpmedia.com!