The 10 Best And The 10 Worst
Do the Oscars usually pick the best for winners? Well, most people would say no, but here are 10 cases in the Best Original Song category where they got it very right, and 10 that they got very wrong.
“Streets Of Philadelphia”
This track from 1993’s Tom Hanks drama Philadelphia still gives us the chills. It helps that the legend of American rock, Bruce Springsteen, was still at the very height of his powers.
Bruce Springsteen - Streets of Philadelphia (Official Video), Bruce Springsteen
“Streets Of Philadelphia”
Curiously, Springsteen was snubbed years later for his title track from the 2008 Mickey Rourke drama The Wrestler. You’d think he’d be a shoo-in anytime he recorded anything!
Bruce Springsteen - Streets of Philadelphia (Official Video), Bruce Springsteen
Theme From Shaft
Shaft, having a place at the Oscars in the 1970s, was somewhat revolutionary. The blaxploitation classic definitely stood out from the kind of films being awarded by the Academy.
Isaac Hayes - Shaft Soundtrack (Episode 108), Ten-Minute Record Reviews
Theme From Shaft
Frankly speaking, you can say anything you want about what it meant politically, but when it comes down to it, the track frankly just kicks butt. Soul legend Isaac Hayes richly deserved that gold trophy.
“Born Free”
Do you remember the 1966 lion cub film Born Free? We didn’t think so, and in turn, what are the chances you’ve even heard the title track from the film, which won an Academy Award?
Born Free (1966) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD 1080p], Almira MD
“Born Free”
James Bond composer John Barry had a hand in the track, but listening to it, you wouldn’t detect it. Safe to say that it must have been a remarkably weak year for original songs.
Born Free (1966) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD 1080p], Almira MD
“Over The Rainbow”
There are times when you simply cannot deny a classic. This is certainly the case with “Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz.
THE WIZARD OF OZ ('39): Over the Rainbow, Turner Classic Movies
“Over The Rainbow”
Well, the writing and composition of the song are top-notch, and Judy Garland’s performance is what puts it over the edge. It really wouldn’t be the same with a different performer behind it.
THE WIZARD OF OZ ('39): Over the Rainbow, Turner Classic Movies
“Talk To The Animals”
Doctor Dolittle was amongst the nadir of bloated 60s Hollywood filmmaking. And frankly, “Talk to the Animals” doesn’t really light up the two and a half hour runtime.
Talk to the Animals - Rex Harrison, WolfGirl04
“Talk To The Animals”
The funny story in regards to Doctor Dolittle and the Oscars was that despite being a hated flop, it received a Best Picture nomination. That’s because the film’s studio, 20th Century Fox, basically forced all their employees to put it on their ballot to save face.
Talk to the Animals - Rex Harrison, WolfGirl04
“Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head”
Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid took a risk by futzing up its period Western details with anachronisms. One of these was including a Burt Bacharach soundtrack, including “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head”.
B. J. Thomas - Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head (Stereo / Lyrics), LilLinks
“Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head”
The risk paid off, and the combination of song and scene was one of the most iconic of that era. The song was justly awarded with an Academy Award, as what else could even compete?
B. J. Thomas - Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head (Stereo / Lyrics), LilLinks
“The Way We Were”
Some things are hard not to associate with a certain level of schmaltz. This certainly goes for the Academy Award-winning title track from the 70s hit The Way We Were.
Barbra Streisand "THE WAY WE WERE" |1973 by OLJA.O
“The Way We Were”
Considering it’s Barbara Streisand, there’s certainly a lot better you can do with her and film music. Curiously, film composer legend Marvin Hamlisch had a hand in this sappy track.
Barbra Streisand - The Way We Were, Os. Bend.
“Moon River”
Breakfast at Tiffany’s endures as a classic for many reasons, fashion for one, Mickey Rooney, unfortunately, another. One of the most defining elements is, of course, the music, including the Oscar-winning “Moon River”.
Breakfast At Tiffany's Moon River by Audrey Hepburn 4K Eng Kor SubCC, Yena Audio
“Moon River”
The track by Henry Mancini embodies the bittersweet quality that runs throughout the film. It’s hard not to get a little emotional listening to it.
Breakfast At Tiffany's Moon River by Audrey Hepburn 4K Eng Kor SubCC, Yena Audio
“Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing”
Do yourself a favor and don’t look up Jennifer Jones' makeup from Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing, which attempted to make the Caucasian actress look Eurasian. At the time, people were willing to overlook that, though, to give the 50s melodrama a song Oscar.
LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDORED THING, Cindyork HongKong
“Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing”
Not much better than the bad makeup is the title track, which, like we said, somehow won an Oscar. Sometimes, the Oscars were too happy to settle for easy listening for the song choices.
LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDORED THING, Cindyork HongKong
“White Christmas”
The only track on this list that is a holiday perennial, “White Christmas,” has seen many covers over the years. A particular highlight in that regard is from Phil Spector’s classic Christmas album, as covered by Darlene Love.
A Christmas Gift To You From Phil Spector - The Greatest Christmas Album Ever, Shoegazer Productions
“White Christmas”
The song originated from the Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby comedy Holiday Inn. It’s the kind of comedy that’s maybe too old-fashioned for modern audiences, but nonetheless still has a popular theme song.
Holiday Inn (1942) Trailer | Bing Crosby | Fred Astaire, Film Trailer Channel
“Let It Go”
We get that the Oscars have to somewhat of a populist bone to stay relevant. But did they really need to reward the annoyingly overplayed “Let It Go” from Frozen?
Idina Menzel - Let It Go (from Frozen) (Official Video), DisneyMusicVEVO
“Let It Go”
That being said, at least the song’s presence at the Oscars that year led to John Travolta’s infamous “Adele Dazeem” gaffe. That was one of the funniest Oscar moments in recent history.
Idina Menzel - Let It Go (from Frozen) (Official Video), DisneyMusicVEVO
“Take My Breath Away”
Despite what a hit it was, Top Gun wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea. That being said, many people are, to this day, still very fond of the soundtrack.
Top Gun • Take My Breath Away • Berlin, HD Film Tributes
“Take My Breath Away”
“Take My Breath Away”, composed by pop group Berlin and the electronic music pioneer Giorgio Moroder, is the obvious highlight of the soundtrack, and perhaps film. It was a richly deserved Academy Award win.
Top Gun • Take My Breath Away • Berlin, HD Film Tributes
“It’s Hard Out Here For A Pimp”
Undeniably one of the great Oscar moments of the last 20 years was Three 6 Mafia picking up a trophy for “It’s Hard Out Here For A Pimp”. The track from the hip-hop drama Hustle & Flow was a more inspired choice than any of the competition.
Hard Out Here for a Pimp - Hustle & Flow (5/9) Movie CLIP (2005) HD,Movieclips
“It’s Hard Out Here For A Pimp”
The win was extra entertaining if you were a fan of Three 6 Mafia, one of the most abrasive hip-hop acts out there. It genuinely felt like underground culture infiltrating the mainstream.
“El Mal”
The degree to which the musical Emilia Perez went from Oscar frontrunner to worldwide joke during the span of the most recent awards season was quite the sight to behold. That being said, even with the backlash it accumulated, “El Mal” still managed to pull off a song win.
EMILIA PEREZ - EL MAL, The Cinema Show
“El Mal”
The song isn’t even that bad, it just deserves placement in the worst category simply for the secondhand embarrassment that ensued when co-writer of the track, Camille, began singing on stage during the acceptance speech. Time to play her off, Academy band.
EMILIA PEREZ - EL MAL, The Cinema Show
“You’ll Be In My Heart”
Nothing against Phil Collins, or even Disney’s Tarzan, but “You’ll Be In My Heart” was nobody’s finest hour. It may have symbolized the 90s Disney Renaissance coming to an end.
Phil Collins & Glenn Close - You'll Be In My Heart (from Disney´s Tarzan, 1999) 1080p, Edu Seijas
“You’ll Be In My Heart”
Of course, that track was perhaps immortalized by a South Park episode mocking it relentlessly. Trey Parker and Matt Stone were still bitter about “Blame Canada” from South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut losing to it.
Phil Collins & Glenn Close - You'll Be In My Heart (from Disney´s Tarzan, 1999) 1080p, Edu Seijas
“Into The West”
People had forgotten about Eurythmics star Annie Lennox, so it was nice she came roaring back with an Oscar win at the 2004 ceremony. She proved she wasn’t a relic of the 1980s.
Into the west - Annie Lennox & Howard Shore, Moonglow
“Into The West”
You may have forgotten that it was for the trilogy-capping The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Lennox’s delivery adds a great deal of emotional weight to an already pummeling film experience.
Into the west - Annie Lennox & Howard Shore, Moonglow
“We May Never Love Like This Again”
The 70s are generally thought of as a watermark for American cinema. That being said, there was still a great number of corny populist hits, like The Towering Inferno, which won an Academy Award for the song “We May Never Love Like This Again”.
We may never love like this again - from The Towering Inferno(1974), cake kim
“We May Never Love Like This Again”
The track is just as corny and dated as the movie it originates from, but regardless, it hit in 1974. I guess the song at least deserves credit for matching the movie.
We may never love like this again - from The Towering Inferno(1974), cake kim
“Skyfall”
Bond songs had a rather poor history with the Oscars, which made it a big deal when Adele’s title track from the 2012 film finally won the franchise the award. She clearly had to really nail it to overcome the bias.
James Bond 007 Skyfall by Adele [OFFICIAL FULL MUSIC VIDEO], theBTFabian
“Skyfall”
It helped that the film Skyfall was attempting to elevate the Bond franchise, so the Academy bought into the prestige. We might’ve liked seeing the Duran Duran track from the 80s winning too, but oh well.
James Bond 007 Skyfall by Adele [OFFICIAL FULL MUSIC VIDEO], theBTFabian
“Writing’s On The Wall”
The accomplishment of Adele winning was squashed three years later when the follow-up Bond picture, Spectre, won another Best Original Song trophy. Frankly, was there no better competition?
Sam Smith - Writing's On The Wall (from Spectre) (Official Music Video), SAM SMITH
“Writing’s On The Wall”
Sam Smith’s ditty for that Bond film isn’t even amongst the best of the franchise, let alone a film year. We can chalk this up to laziness on the part of Academy voters.
Sam Smith - Writing's On The Wall (from Spectre) (Official Music Video), SAM SMITH
“Zip A Dee Doo Dah”
Song of the South is undeniably the most controversial Disney movie of all time, and for good reason. Let’s just say its attitudes towards race relations are, well, dated.
Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah - Song of the South (1946), Hardwicke Benthow
“Zip A Dee Doo Dah”
The Oscar-winning track “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” is, unfortunately, representative of Song of the South. It likely won’t be included in any montages regarding past winners.
Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah - Song of the South (1946), Hardwicke Benthow
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