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T he Oscar for Best Original Song is one of the most coveted awards in the music industry – arguably more so than the Grammy for Song of the Year. The accolade was first introduced in 1934 at the 7th Academy Awards, and was won by “The Continental” (Con Conrad, Herb Magidson) from Best Film nominee The Gay Divorcee.
A great song can help lift an average or good film into the annals of cinema history, and often convey the thoughts and feelings of its characters better than the dialogue itself. Looking at the winners across the years it is abundantly clear that the voting academy favours sweeping ballads above all else, but there have been exceptions, such as with Eminem 's “Lose Yourself” from 8 Mile , in 2002, and the funk-driven “Theme from Shaft”.
With Leslie Odom Jr and Sam Ashworth’s “Speak Now” (One Night in Miami ) and Laura Pausini and Diane Warren’s “Io sì (Seen)” (The life Ahead) looking like the most likely contenders for this year's Best Original Song, here's a look at the best tracks to win this category since the Oscars began.
Click through to see which song we deem the best of the best.
Show all 20 1 /20The greatest Oscar winners for Best Original Song – ranked The greatest Oscar winners for Best Original Song – ranked 20) “Things Have Changed” – Wonder Boys, 2000 Dylan sent a CD to Curtis Hanson just a few weeks after the director approached him about contributing an original song to Wonder Boys. The track incorporates a staggering number of literary and cultural references, including from the book upon which the film is based, such as dressing "in drag" and "dancing lessons", and also what critic Michael Gray believed was an allusion to the Shelley phrase "sapphire-tinted skies" from "Written among the Euganean Hills, north Italy". It also features the devastating line: "I've been trying to get as far away from myself as I can," which seems to speak as much to Dylan himself as to Michael Douglas's character, professor Grady Tripp.
The greatest Oscar winners for Best Original Song – ranked 19) “The Way We Were” – The Way We Were, 1974 Many critics felt this was the song, which serves as a melancholic reflection on the relationship between Hubble (Robert Redford) and Katie (Barbra Streisand), that revived Streisand’s career. American composer and producer Marvin Hamlisch wrote the song with Alan and Marilyn Bergman, the song beat Paul and Linda McCartney’s James Bond theme “Live and Let Die”, at a memorable Oscars ceremony where a male streaker ran across the stage waving a “Peace” sign. Appropriate, really, given Katie’s “ban the bomb” campaigning in the film.
Columbia Pictures
The greatest Oscar winners for Best Original Song – ranked 18) “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” – Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 1969 If Paul Neman and Robert Redford’s piercing blue eyes and good looks weren’t enough to convince audiences to sympathise with their outlaws of the title, Burt Bacharach’s jaunty, ukulele-strumming number was. Singer BJ Thomas claimed it was originally offered to Bob Dylan, but it was his rendition that became the first number one of the 1970s, and later appeared on the albums of just about every other easy-listening artist for the next five decades.
Getty Images
The greatest Oscar winners for Best Original Song – ranked 17) “When You Wish Upon a Star” – Pinocchio, 1940 Sung by the cartoon Jiminy Cricket (Cliff Edwards) in the film about the wooden puppet who dreams of being a real boy, “When You Wish Upon a Star” is one of the songs most identified with Disney. The American Film Institute ranked it seventh in its 100 Greatest Songs in Film History, and you can see why: the lyrics convey all the wide-eyed hope of children everywhere, who still believe that wishes can come true.
Disney
The greatest Oscar winners for Best Original Song – ranked 16) “Streets of Philadelphia” – Philadelphia, 1993 Philadelphia director Jonathan Demme asked Bruce Springsteen to write a song for his in-progress film about a lawyer battling his former employees as he also deals with his recent AIDS diagnosis and worsening illness. The track became Springsteen’s highest-charting song in the UK, peaking at number two, and received acclaim for the emotionally intense effect from the hidden mic that recorded the vocals live during the video shoot.
Rex Features
The greatest Oscar winners for Best Original Song – ranked 15) “Beauty and the Beast” – Beauty and the Beast, 1991 Angela Lansbury recorded the song in just one take, after her initial hesitations about performing it because it was written in a style she was unused to. Unlike the rather insipid rendition by Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson, Lansbury’s warm, fragile vocals contrast nicely with the elegant, sweeping violins and uplifting flutes.
Disney
The greatest Oscar winners for Best Original Song – ranked 14) “Up Where We Belong” – An Officer and a Gentleman, 1982 Jennifer Warnes reportedly cried out with joy when Joe Cocker accepted her invitation to sing the duet by Buffy Sainte-Marie, Will Jennings and Jack Nitzsche. It was recognised by the Recording Industry Association of America as one of the “Songs of the Century”, and tackles themes of overcoming obstacles on the way to love – with one of the most epic choruses of all time. It’s about as unlikely a vocal pairing as you could think of, but Cocker’s restrained, gruff performance managed to fit neatly with Warnes’s sweeter lilt.
Rex
The greatest Oscar winners for Best Original Song – ranked 13) “Let it Go” – Frozen, 2013 The stubborn refusal of this song to shift from the charts in 2013 makes The Greatest Showman soundtrack seem like a flash in the pan. Idina Menzel’s powerhouse vocals give the song the grit it needs to evoke the determination and joy of Frozen’s lead character, Princess Elsa, as she discovers the full power of her magic and feels free for the first time. It was favourably compared to Menzel’s most famous song at the time: “Defying Gravity” from the Broadway musical Wicked.
The greatest Oscar winners for Best Original Song – ranked 12) "Shallow" – A Star is Born Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper's soundtrack for the remake of A Star is Born dominated the charts in 2018 and for much of the following year. The original theme, "Shallow", is a startling ballad where Cooper shows restraint in order to allow Gaga, the superior singer, to really shine. The song builds towards one of the most memorable "big notes" of all time – an earth-trembling wail that channels the euphoria of taking the plunge.
AP
The greatest Oscar winners for Best Original Song – ranked 11) “The Way You Look Tonight” – Swing Time, 1936 Fred Astaire sang this simple yet beautifully sentimental ballad to Ginger Rogers as she washes her hair, as a tender kind of apology after they fell out. Astaire’s honeyed croons are perfectly suited for the romantic lyrics by Dorothy Fields, whose other credits include “The Sunny Side of the Street” and “A Fine Romance”, and the swooning violins contributed by composer Jerome Kern. It is classic Hollywood romance of the sincere, not schmaltzy, kind.
RKO Radio Pictures
The greatest Oscar winners for Best Original Song – ranked 16) “Skyfall” – Skyfall, 2012 It was widely believed that Adele was the one who managed to re-assert the 007 theme as a major talking point in cinema – after misfires in "Die Another Day", "Quantum of Solace" and "Casino Royale", with her song “Skyfall”, which paid tribute to the great Bond songs of the past with its dark tones and dramatic delivery. The song reached number one in 11 countries and became the first Bond theme to win the Best Song Oscar, as well as the awards for Single of the Year at the Brits; Golden Globe award for Best Original Song and Grammy award for Best Song Written for Visual Media.
The greatest Oscar winners for Best Original Song – ranked 9) “Theme from Shaft” – Shaft, 1971 The blaxploitation movies of the Seventies had poor editing, dubious acting by their support cast, and cheap effects. However, all of them managed to secure soundtracks by some of the greatest artists of that generation, from Curtis Mayfield to Marvin Gaye, James Brown and Bobby Womack. Isaac Hayes, along with the then-unknown Richard Roundtree making his debut as the tough detective, shifted an otherwise OK movie into an iconic piece of cinema history. The urgent hi-hat and that funky twang on the electric guitar, not to mention the instantly-recognisable string section, set the groove for Hayes himself, who delivers just five facts about Shaft in the most self-aware, ridiculous way possible. “Shaft is the black private dick who’s a sex machine to all the chicks.” I mean, wow.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
The greatest Oscar winners for Best Original Song – ranked 8) “Over the Rainbow” – The Wizard of Oz, 1939 One of the defining songs about hope and daring to dream; “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, performed by a 16-year-old Judy Garland, almost didn’t make it into the film as a full version, as film company MGM feared it was too long for the opening sequence in Kansas. We’re glad they kept it: even today it's one of the most affecting musical performances in cinema.
Rex Features
The greatest Oscar winners for Best Original Song – ranked 7) “Moon River” – Breakfast at Tiffany’s, 1961 Audrey Hepburn certainly didn’t have the best singing voice, but her performance of “Moon River” by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer suits the film perfectly. More than a million copies of the sheet music were sold in the month following the release of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, which vindicates Hepbern for insisting – despite the then-president of Paramount Pictures’ protests – that they leave that version in.
Paramount/Kobal/Rex
The greatest Oscar winners for Best Original Song – ranked 6) “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” – The Lion King, 1994 Elton John and Tim Rice are one of the best song-writing teams around, and their classic from the Disney canon is one of the defining examples of how to do film romance without going over the top. “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” was a popular winner at the Oscars in 1994, and also managed to peak at number four in the charts, with over 11m copies sold.
The greatest Oscar winners for Best Original Song – ranked 5) “Lose Yourself” – Eminem, 2002 Remember when Eminem was good? “Lose Yourself” was the first ever rap to win the Best Original Song Oscar, and is one of just three tracks from the 21st century that featured in Rolling Stones’ “500 Greatest Songs of All Time”. Eminem’s rapping, the aggressive yet inspiring lyrics, and that menacing bass line, impressed judges enough to hand it the prize over U2’s “The Hands that Built America”. It is the most successful single of Eminem’s career, with four Grammy nominations (winning two) and 12 consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100.
EminemMusic/YouTube
The greatest Oscar winners for Best Original Song – ranked 4) “What a Feeling” – Flashdance, 1983 Most people think of Fame when they hear the name Irene Cara, but just three years after the film’s release and its eponymous theme, the US singer, dancer and actor scored another hit with “What a Feeling” from Flashdance. Co-written with Keith Forsey and with music by Italian disco and electronic legend Giorgio Moroder, “What a Feeling” is about doing whatever it takes to achieve your dreams.
The greatest Oscar winners for Best Original Song – ranked 3) “Colors of the Wind” – Pocahontas, 1996 This is certainly one of the most profound songs to ever feature in a Disney film, and was used for Pocahontas to challenge John Smith’s Eurocentricism and general ignorance about the world around him. Stephen Schwartz, who composed the Broadway theatre hits Godspell and Pippin, among others, drew inspiration from a famous letter sent to the United States Congress by Chief Seattle to confront humanity’s relationship with nature. “The wind that gave our grandfather his first breath also received his last sigh,” it read. “The win also gives our children the spirit of life. So if we sell our land, you must keep it apart and sacred, as a place where man can go to taste the wind that is sweetened by the meadow flowers.” “Colors of the Wind” is considered one of the greatest songs of the Disney Renaissance.
The greatest Oscar winners for Best Original Song – ranked 2) “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” – Dirty Dancing, 1987 The anticipation that builds on “The Time of My Life” towards the big, epic chorus perfectly mirrors the journey to the final dance in Dirty Dancing, coming together on that iconic lift between dance instructor Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze) and Frances “Baby” Houseman (Jennifer Grey). As on “Up Where We Belong” from An Officer and a Gentleman, Jennifer Warnes is paired with a gruffer, male voice that gives an edge to a song that would otherwise be too sickly-sweet. It was one of several songs that Franke Previte wrote for the film, along with “Hungry Eyes”, which also became a top 10 hit.
Rex Images
The greatest Oscar winners for Best Original Song – ranked 1) “My Heart Will Go On” – Titanic, 1997 Considered one of the most romantic songs of all time, “My Heart Will Go On” was written to accompany a scene in which young lovers Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose (Kate Winslet) embrace at the front of the ill-fated liner, blissfully unaware of the tragedy that awaits them. It’s hard to imagine anyone but Celine Dion doing justice to a technically difficult ballad, building through impressive melismas and expressive sustained notes to that gut-wrenching climax, where she delivers one of the most memorable and powerful key-changes in music history.
The 93rd Academy Awards take place on 25 April – follow all of The Independent's coverage here .
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