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Oscar Watch: 75 Songs to battle for Best Original Song Oscar

Posted Wednesday, December 12, 2012 at 5:15 PM Central

by John Couture

Still not convinced this isn't a long lost Fanning

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced this week that a whopping 75 songs have qualified to be considered for Oscar nominations for Best Original Song. You might remember that this category has been rife with intrigue in years past culminating in last year's lonely two nominations ("Man or Muppet" and "Real in Rio").

The reason for the wide range of nominees over the years had a lot to do with the archaic rules that depended on a confusing point system. Really, I'm not an accountant, and you can read a more thorough account over on Wikipedia, but the Academy at least acknowledged the flaw in the system and mandated that from now on the category will have five nominees.

While this category is one of the few that still allows for multiple nominations from the same movie, I do believe that the relatively new rule capping the nominations at two per film is still in effect. So, with all of the preliminaries out of the way, what does the Oscar "short list" tell us?

Well, it says that a lot of heavyweights are in contention for an Oscar. Katy Perry ("Wide Awake") and Adele ("Skyfall") have battled on the charts, but they might get to take their competition to a whole new arena. Of course, Adele is more likely to get a nomination than Katy Perry, but you never know what will happen when the votes are tabulated.

And really, who wouldn't pay good money to see what Katy Perry wears to the Oscars?

Matthew McConaughey is getting serious consideration for a Best Supporting Actor nomination (no, that's not a joke) for his turn as the owner of male strip club in Magic Mike, but he's also on this list for his song "Ladies of Tampa." Before you guffaw too loudly, consider this: in a year that saw "Fifty Shades of Grey" become one of the hottest books around, crazier things have happened.

But, who am I kidding? The Academy tends to be more conservative and male, so I'm calling it an extreme long shot.

More likely however, is a nomination for Les Miserables. That's right, I said Les Miserables. But wait you say, I thought that Best Original Song nominees had to be written specifically for the film that they appear in? They do.

That's right, not only is Les Miserables turning heads for its cast actually singing the songs on set, but the musical's composers have created a whole new song for a new scene added specifically for the film. And better yet, there's a behind-the-scenes video all about it.

If I had to handicap the race, I'd say that the Les Mis song is a shoe-in along with one of the Brave songs. I think Skyfall will capture a nomination if only because of Adele and its tremendous box office success.

That leaves two spots and 72 songs to choose from. I think "Pi's Lullaby" has a fair shake because I think people will gravitate to the film and want to reward it in some way. As for my dark horse, I'm going back to my favorite film of 2012, Safety Not Guaranteed and the song "Big Machine."

If nominated, Mark Duplass better get up on stage and perform it on the zither. Here's the entire "short list" of 75 submissions.

  • "For You" from "Act of Valor"
  • "Metaphorical Blanket" from "Any Day Now"
  • "Let It Rain" from "Being Flynn"
  • "Learn Me Right" from "Brave"
  • "Touch the Sky" from "Brave"
  • "Airport" from "Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best"
  • "Come on Girl" from "Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best"
  • "Someday" from "Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best"
  • "Protect the King" from "Brooklyn Castle"
  • "California Solo" from "California Solo"
  • "Casa De Mi Padre" from "Casa De Mi Padre"
  • "Del Cielo" from "Casa De Mi Padre"
  • "Yo No Se" from "Casa De Mi Padre"
  • "No Other Plans" from "Celeste and Jesse Forever"
  • "Before My Time" from "Chasing Ice"
  • "By the Light of the Moon" from "Crossroad"
  • "The Sambola! International Dance Craze" from "Damsels in Distress"
  • "When You Comin' Home" from "Darling Companion"
  • "Death by China" from "Death by China"
  • "Delhi Safari" from "Delhi Safari"
  • "Ancora Qui" from "Django Unchained"
  • "Freedom" from "Django Unchained"
  • "100 Black Coffins" from "Django Unchained"
  • "Who Did That to You?" from "Django Unchained"
  • "How Bad Can I Be?" from "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax"
  • "Let It Grow" from "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax"
  • "Thneedville" from "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax"
  • "Ain't No Train" from "Downtown Express"
  • "You Don't Have to Be a Star" from "Fame High"
  • "Jose's Martyrdom" from "For Greater Glory: The True Story of Cristiada"
  • "Strange Love" from "Frankenweenie"
  • "Voodoo" from "Halloween Party"
  • "Luna Nascosta" from "Hidden Moon"
  • "Song of the Lonely Mountain" from "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"
  • "Abraham's Daughter" from "The Hunger Games"
  • "Master of the Seas" from "Ice Age Continental Drift"
  • "We Are" from "Ice Age Continental Drift"
  • "Looking for a Sign" from "Jeff, Who Lives at Home"
  • "From Here to the Moon and Back" from "Joyful Noise"
  • "He's Everything" from "Joyful Noise"
  • "I'm Yours" from "Joyful Noise"
  • "Wide Awake" from "Katy Perry: Part of Me"
  • "Cosmonaut" from "Lawless"
  • "Beaten Up and Broken Down" from "Least among Saints"
  • "Suddenly" from "Les Misérables"
  • "Pi's Lullaby" from "Life of Pi"
  • "When I Grow Up" from "Losing Control"
  • "Love Always Comes as a Surprise" from "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted"
  • "Ladies of Tampa" from "Magic Mike"
  • "The Baddest Man Alive" from "The Man with the Iron Fists"
  • "This Gift" from "The Odd Life of Timothy Green"
  • "Still Alive" from "Paul Williams Still Alive"
  • "Dotted Line" from "People Like Us"
  • "Snake Eyes" from "Promised Land"
  • "Razors.Out" from "The Raid: Redemption"
  • "I'm Not Leaving" from "Re:Generation"
  • "Still Dream" from "Rise of the Guardians"
  • "Undercover Love" from "Rock of Ages"
  • "Big Machine" from "Safety Not Guaranteed"
  • "I Be Here" from "Saint Dracula"
  • "I Have Secrets" from "Saint Dracula"
  • "Skyfall" from "Skyfall"
  • "Breath of Life" from "Snow White and the Huntsman"
  • "Gone" from "Snow White and the Huntsman"
  • "One Wing" from "Sparkle"
  • "Not Running Anymore" from "Stand Up Guys"
  • "Feel Love" from "Struck by Lightning"
  • "Everybody Needs a Best Friend" from "Ted"
  • "Never Had" from "10 Years"
  • "Dull Tool" from "This Is 40"
  • "She Won't Let Go" from "Until They Are Home"
  • "Kiss Me Goodbye" from "Virginia"
  • "Anything Made of Paper" from "West of Memphis"
  • "Hashishet Albi" from "Where Do We Go Now?"
  • "When Can I See You Again?" from "Wreck-It Ralph"