Oscar Predictions: Best Original Song

This year, Oscar nominations will be announced on Tuesday, January 23rd. I’ll be offering detailed predictions in most of the major categories, saving some of the biggest categories for last.

Last year’s nominees: “The Empty Chair” (Jim: The James Foley Story), “Audition” (La La Land), “City of Stars” (La La Land), “How Far I’ll Go” (Moana), “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” (Trolls)

This year’s Golden Globe and Critics Choice nominees: “Evermore” (Beauty and the Beast), “Mystery of Love” (Call Me By Your Name), “Remember Me” (Coco), “Home” (Ferdinand), “This Is Me” (The Greatest Showman), “Stand Up for Something” (Marshall), “Mighty River” (Mudbound), “The Star” (The Star)

Other contenders: “If I Dare” (Battle of the Sexes), “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” (Fifty Shades Darker), “You Shouldn’t Look at Me That Way” (Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool), “Truth to Power” (An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power), “Never Forget” (Murder on the Orient Express)

The rundown: The past few years, this category has produced at least one very strange and completely unexpected nominee. Obviously those are difficult to predict. The selections from the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Awards seem like strong bets, and I’d watch out for the tunes from Fifty Shades Darker and An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power since their predecessors had songs that were nominated and won, respectively. Though I haven’t had a chance to listen to all (or at least most of) the 70 eligible songs like I usually do, I don’t know how much perspective it actually offers, so here goes nothing!

One possible crazy scenario: Someone actually saw a film I liked at last year’s Sundance, Band Aid, and voted for the humorous “Love and Lies,” which is just one of the great tunes in that film.

Predicted nominees: “Remember Me” (Coco), “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” (Fifty Shades Darker), “This Is Me” (The Greatest Showman), “Truth to Power” (An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power), “Mighty River” (Mudbound)

Forecasted winner: “This Is Me”