The 86th annual Academy Awards have finally given music fans some real meat to chew on. Only two contenders were in the running for Best Original Song in 2012, but the Academy has gotten it together this year with nominations including U2, Karen O, Pharrell and others for Best Song, while Arcade Fire’s Win Butler and frequent collaborator Owen Pallett are up for Best Original Score. Check out the full list of Academy Award Nominations.
U2’s “Ordinary Love,” their Nelson Mandela tribute from the Idris Elba-starring biopic Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, has all but secured their Oscar win, as the Academy frankly loves that shit. Its likelihood is increased by the fact that “Ordinary Love” just won the Golden Globe for the same category.
Comparatively, Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman Karen O’s Her lullaby “The Moon Song” for Spike Jonze’s film Her, and Pharrell’s viral sensation “Happy” from the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack are leading contenders. “Let It Go,” written by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez and recorded in separate versions by both Demi Lovato and Idina Menzel for Disney’s Frozen, stands in strong contention as well. Christian-themed movie Alone Yet Not Alone’s eponymous theme song, with music by Bruce Broughton and lyrics by Dennis Spiegel, is up for consideration as well.
In the Best Original Score category, Arcade Fire’s Butler and Pallett are up for their work on Her against John Williams with The Book Thief, Steven Price with Gravity, Alexandre Desplat with Philomena, and Thomas Newman with Saving Mr. Banks.
