The Oscar category for Best Original Song can be a magical lineup, with previous wins going to musical masterpieces like “Over the Rainbow,” “When You Wish Upon a Star,” “Moon River,” “Theme from Shaft,” and recent winners including artists as varied as Billie Eilish (twice!), Lady Gaga, Adele, Eminem, and Bob Dylan. This category can be full of some of the best songs of the year, and a great song can enhance a movie in ways that make a film.
Well, this isn’t one of those years.
I’m not going to sugarcoat it for you, but this year’s Best Original Song category has one of the weakest lineups in any category, to the point where it’s arguably one of the worst in the category’s history. There’s just, unfortunately, not a lot that stands out here, and it’s even more disappointing when you see the shortlist of potential nominees, like Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross‘ “Compress/Repress” from Challengers, “Sick in the Head” from Kneecap, songs from Moana 2, Piece by Piece, Mufasa: The Lion King, songs from country singers like Lainey Wilson and Maren Morris, and even an original song from Kristen Wiig. This year had some great options, and, to be honest, these nominees…aren’t them.
That being said, these five nominees for Best Original Song do manage to capture the spirit of their respective films quite well and feature an impressive lineup of artists that includes Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, Brandi Carlisle, and previous winners Elton John and H.E.R. This category this year is an unusual one, as it’s unclear where voters will lean: do they give John his third Oscar, or could they finally award Diane Warren after sixteenth nominations? Put on your headphones, and let’s dive into this year’s Best Original Song category, ranked from best to worst.
5
“El Mal” from ‘Emilia Pérez’ (2024)
Music by Clément Ducol and Camille; Lyric by Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard
Of all this year’s nominees in the Original Song category, “El Mal” is without a doubt the one that feels the most central to the film itself, and the performance of this song within the film is one of the more iconic moments of note. While Emilia Pérez’s music has certainly been a point of criticism, “El Mal” is one of the better examples in the film. Hell, it actually sounds like a song, which puts it above many of the film’s other tracks. But it’s also a strong microcosm of what Emilia Pérez does and doesn’t do well.
Lyrically, “El Mal” is all over the place, much like the film, trying to do too much with every verse. “El Mal” is also one of the only songs from Emilia Pérez that might be worth listening to outside the film if it weren’t for the weird interjections by Karla Sofía Gascón that break up the energy of the song that Clément Ducol and Camille are building. But like with Emilia Pérez itself, the saving grace of “El Mal” is the performance of Zoe Saldaña, who is just having a blast rapping out these lyrics. Who cares if it’s just a bunch of nonsense outside the context of the film when she’s having that much fun with them? The way her inflection changes and the little twists she puts on certain words make this a great spotlight for Saldaña within a film that is largely a mess.
4
“Mi Camino” from “Emilia Pérez’ (2024)
Music and Lyric by Camille and Clément Ducol
To be honest, if we had to give Emilia Pérez two nominations in this category, both “El Mal” and “Mi Camino” aren’t terrible choices. At least they’re staying away from some of the really questionable tracks from that Jacques Audiard film. Purely based on the songs they sing alone, of the three main actresses, Selena Gomez probably gets away from Emilia Pérez most unscathed, and “Mi Camino” might be her best song.
“Mi Camino” sort of reminds how Emilia Pérez could’ve been much stronger with restraint and a clearer vision. The lyrics are quite strong, some of the best in this category, as Gomez’s Jessi Del Monte sings about wanting to become who she’s always wanted to be and hoping to love life after the supposed death of her husband. But at just under four minutes, “Mi Camino” gets pretty monotonous fairly quickly, barely evolving as it goes, becoming little more than a generic pop song. Again, it’s a decent song for Emilia Pérez, but that’s a pretty low bar.
3
“The Journey” from ‘The Six Triple Eight’ (2024)
Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
“The Journey” has many of the same problems that so many of Diane Warren’s Oscar-nominated songs in the last decade have had. It’s a song full of optimistic platitudes that could be added to literally almost any movie and still make just as much sense. Warren’s nominated songs often feel like they were all written at once; she just keeps them in a drawer and indiscriminately throws one at any film that wants one of her tunes for a guaranteed single Oscar nomination. I mean, just look at the bland titles of her other recent nominated songs: “I’ll Fight,” “Stand Up for Something,” and “I’m Standing With You.” You could mix and match any of these songs with any of these movies and never know the difference. I mean, my goodness, half of “The Journey” is simply saying “the journey” over and over again.
Many of these previous songs have been performed by artists who didn’t boost their songs at all, like Sofia Carson, Chrissy Metz, Laura Pausini, and Becky G. And while H.E.R. (a previous winner in this category for “Fight for You” from Judas and the Black Messiah) isn’t always the most exciting artist, she does a lot with a little in “The Journey.” Especially in the song’s last 30 seconds, H.E.R. is bringing a level of excitement and build that’s absent from most of the other nominees. Especially compared to Warren’s other recent nominees, H.E.R. at least brings some much-needed life to “The Journey,” and it could mean all the difference. Considering how weak this category is this year, it’s entirely possible that after sixteen Original Song nominations, “The Journey” could very well be the song that finally earns Warren her first competitive Oscar.
2
“Never Too Late” from ‘Elton John: Never Too Late’ (2024)
Music and Lyric by Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt and Bernie Taupin
Elton John: Never Too Late is a documentary about the beginning and end of Elton John’s touring career, showing that even decades after starting his career, he still has plenty of opportunities to try new things, whether it’s working on a radio show to highlight up-and-coming artists or spending more time with his family. It’s a lovely film, yet the song “Never Too Late” by John, Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt, and Bernie Taupin doesn’t quite convey that feeling with the same power. And let’s not forget that John won this category back in 2019 for the much better “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from Rocketman, another song about fresh starts and trying again.
John and Carlile do go well together here and there’s nothing particularly wrong with “Never Too Late,” but there’s also nothing all too exciting either. If you want a song that feels like the culmination of your entire career like Elton John: Never Too Late seemingly wants to be, “Never Too Late” just isn’t it. But if the Academy decides they don’t want to award Warren yet again, this seems like a fairly easy win for John—who, keep in mind, has never been nominated in this category and not won, having prevailed in 2019 and receiving three nominations for The Lion King, for which “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” won. John faced off against Warren in 2019 and beat her, and it’s entirely possible we could see a repeat of that night yet again.
1
“Like a Bird” from ‘Sing Sing’ (2024)
Music and Lyric by Abraham Alexander and Adrian Quesada
Let’s be honest: the winner of Music (Original Song) should be a track that’s in some way essential to the film it’s in. Recent winners like “What Was I Made For?” from Barbie, “Naatu Naatu” from RRR, or “Shallow” from A Star Is Born are all perfect examples of that. But far too often, we get nominees for songs that are just thrown into the end credits, many times simply to get a potential Oscar nomination. In this year’s category, none of these songs feel particularly essential to the films they’re in, so if we take importance to the film itself out of the equation, “Like a Bird” by Abraham Alexander and Black Pumas’s Adrian Quesada is probably the best encapsulation of their given film through song.
Alexander and Quesada definitely get to the heart of what makes Sing Sing such a powerful film with “Like a Bird,” describing a longing for freedom that hits especially hard after the film’s beautiful final moments. The lyrics themselves are a bit generic, but the heart is in the right place, and even if it’s not key to Sing Sing itself, it’s a decent note to go out on after that emotional conclusion. The mixture of blues, soul, and rock is a nice combination that elevates what could be a fairly basic song. Sing Sing could absolutely exist without the inclusion of “Like a Bird,’ but it’s a solid punctuation to a powerful film that stands above the other nominees this year.
