Oscar Predictions: Best Original Song

Last year’s nominees: The Weary Kind (Crazy Heart), Take It All (Nine), Loin de Paname (Paris 36), Almost There (The Princess and the Frog), Down in New Orleans (The Princess and the Frog)

Likely contenders:
Bound to You (Burlesque)
Welcome to Burlesque (Burlesque)
You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me (Burlesque)
There’s a Place for Us (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader)
Coming Home (Country Strong)
Sticks & Stones (How to Train Your Dragon)
Le Gris (Idiots and Angels)
Chanson Illusionist (The Illusionist)
If I Rise (127 Hours)
Darling I Do (Shrek Forever After)
I See the Light (Tangled)
We Belong Together (Toy Story 3)
Nothing (Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too)
Shine (Waiting for Superman)

The rundown: Above you have roughly one third of the officially eligible songs for this category. I’ve managed to put together a YouTube playlist with 34 of the 41 eligible songs for your listening pleasure, embedded below. It’s worth noting that one of the six remaining songs is actually quite good (and quite important to the film), and that’s “This Is a Low” from “Tamara Drewe.” Unfortunately, all I can offer you from that is an Amazon sample which you can also purchase. Additionally, I don’t think many besides me saw that film, so I wouldn’t count on it having a shot. Back to the real contenders – it’s unlikely that all five of the Golden Globe nominees (Bound to You, You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me, There’s a Place for Us, Coming Home, I See the Light) will be nominated for the Oscar, so the question becomes twofold: what gets left off, and what was snubbed and is probably still back in the race. The best bet is Randy Newman’s song from “Toy Story 3,” given that he was nominated for both of the first two films. I don’t see the “Narnia” song going the distance, and it’s very possible that John Legend’s “Shine” from “Waiting for Superman” or A.R. Rahman’s “If I Rise” could snag its slot, as well as an animated choice like “Chason Illusionist” or “Sticks & Stones,” though my pick for an upset is another unknown French song, just like last year, which wowed me the moment I heard it: “Le Gris” from “Idiots and Angels” (which I have not seen). Listen for yourself; it’s my bold choice for this category. It’s seriously hard to predict this race though, so watch out for some surprises.

Forecasted winner: Cher for You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me.”