OVP: Best Original Song (2020)
The Nominees Were...
"Fight for You," Music & Lyric by H.E.R., Dernst Emile II, & Tiara Thomas, Judas and the Black Messiah
"Hear My Voice," Music & Lyric by Daniel Pemberton & Celeste Waite, The Trial of the Chicago 7
"Husavik," Music & Lyric by Savan Kotecha, Fat Max Gsus, & Richard Goransson, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
"Io Si (Seen") Music & Lyric by Diane Warren & Laura Pausini, The Life Ahead
"Speak Now," Music & Lyric by Leslie Odom, Jr. & Sam Ashworth, One Night in Miami
My Thoughts: One of the hardest things about looking at Oscar's lineup specifically compared to whom I would've picked is that Oscar will frequently judge their categories (or seemingly judge their categories) by different metrics. Nowhere is that clearer than in Best Original Song. For me, what I want out of a movie song is three things: 1) that it's a great piece of music, 2) that it feels organic/logical within the theme of the picture, and 3) that it is utilized well within the film. The latter means that I almost always will dock points for songs that are told over the end credits of a movie even if they're great pieces of music, because with very few exceptions (Titanic, The Lord of the Rings come to mind) it feels like the end credits songs are just "there." And when four of the five films nominated here are end credits songs, it's really hard to compare-and-contrast when they have so little to do with their movies.
Look at something like "Fight for You," which is a solid song. HER finds a way to incorporate a soulful bass line into her tune, and I think it's maybe the best song on its own of these movies. But it's played over the end credits, and has very little to do with the film itself. It also feels slightly more upbeat than much of the Judas we have seen before it. One of the reasons I singled out Titanic and Lord of the Rings is the songs in those movies feel like complete extensions of the film itself (in LOTR case, they're also across gorgeous end credit sequences, which helps). "Fight for You" doesn't quite match the tenor of the movie in front of it.
This isn't the case for "Io Si," which was Diane Warren's umpteenth loss in this category (Warren getting nominations for the most random movies known to man has become such a bizarre joke, and it helps that Warren herself seems to be in on it). "Io Si" works well within the movie it's housing-it's a bit more saccharine (it is Warren-her brand of sweeping ballads went out-of-fashion about 15 years ago, when a rawer, more personal style of music became more en vogue), but so is the movie. It also helps considerably that this is objectively a good song, with strong vocals. At this point it's probable that Warren will find the recipe to win a trophy at some point, but it's honestly a pity they couldn't have given it to her for "Io Si" given this was her worthiest nomination in a couple of decades.
"Speak Now" takes a step away from "Io Si" and "Fight for You" in that it's not really a great piece of music. It kind of captures the way the movie is headed in the final moments, trying to bridge the gap from the music of Sam Cooke with the movement that would come ahead of all four of the men in the story. The problem is that it doesn't have enough depth, is lyrically unimpressive & we're left simply to notice Odom's fine if indistinct vocals. This is perhaps me slightly projecting on Odom's performance itself (we'll get to it soon, but I thought he was the least of the four actors despite being the only one that got an Oscar nomination), but this isn't great.
Neither is "Hear My Voice," which is the most nondescript nominee in a category that, let's be honest, kind of sings you to sleep. Celeste is an amazing vocalist, and I highly recommend you investigate some of her other music ("Strange" will make you feel things), but she's such a bad fit compared to the toxic masculinity we've just witnessed for 2+ hours in Chicago 7, and it feels like Sorkin is cheating by having a woman suddenly pull focus in a story he's relegated females to window dressing. Combine in repetitive lyrics, and it playing over the end credits, and you're right to close out your Netflix window early to go watch Heartstopper.
Which brings us to "Husavik." The song, housed in a ridiculous Will Ferrell comedy (speaking of things that went out of fashion about 15 years ago, Ferrell's schtick doesn't seem to have a place in the more knowing world of modern film comedy) is not only sung during the movie, but it's a critical plot point, with both of the main characters suddenly having epiphanies on stage. Yes, it's a bit schlocky if you listen to the song outside of the confines of the film, but that's not what a movie is-it's how you feel & how it works in the film for me, and "Husavik" nails that. It's perfectly heightened, gorgeously-rendered, and just the right amount of ridiculous. Bonus points for the wonderful incorporation of Icelandic & English, as well as that killer high note at the end.
Other Precursor Contenders: The Golden Globes didn't make Diane Warren continue to wait, giving her a surprise trophy for "Io Si" that Oscar couldn't duplicate, with her beating "Fight for You," "Speak Now," "Hear My Voice," and "Tigress & Tweed" (from The United States vs. Billie Holliday). The Grammys have different eligibility than Oscar, so they split their eligibility across two years. This resulted in "Carried Me With You" (Onward) losing to "No Time to Die" (a movie that wasn't even released for another year, and a fact I'm almost certainly to miss when we profile 2021, so keep me honest on that one if I do), while in this past year's Grammys "Fight for You" & "Speak Now" came up empty-handed against Bo Burnham's Flawless "All Eyes on Me." In terms of sixth place, maybe we're looking at "Turntables," Janelle Monae's end credits song from All In: The Fight for Democracy? It'd go with the recent trend of documentaries having Best Song nominations.
Songs I Would Have Nominated: To be fair to Oscar, it's not like there were a LOT of great songs to choose from in 2020, but I would've had time for one of Oscar's favorite film formats in this category: animation. Both "Born to Die" from Trolls 2 and "Rocket to the Moon" in Over the Moon are fine pieces of music, and perhaps more crucially-they're actually in the movies themselves (they're even performed by characters onscreen!).
Oscar’s Choice: In what might've been Diane Warren's best (only?) shot at winning an Oscar, "Io Si" couldn't pull through and instead HER pulled off an upset for the surging Judas and the Black Messiah.
My Choice: We do these awards in a vacuum (only looking at the contenders at hand & not the larger "have they already won" picture), so while I might've voted for Warren at the time to finally get her her statue, that's not how the OVP works, and she's my silver. Instead, I'll go with "Husavik," which is exactly what this category should be about-a good piece of music wonderfully inserted into a movie, helping tell the story. "Fight for You," "Speak Now," and "Hear My Voice" bring up the rear, in that order.
Those are my thoughts-how about yours? Are you siding with "Fight for You" with Oscar, or do you want to come over and sing with me in "Husavik?" Do you think end credit songs should be eligible for Oscar, or at least should they have to clear a higher bar in order to win? And what's it going to take to get Diane Warren a statue? Share your thoughts below!
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