Starting today, we are publishing our predictions for the Best Original Song category of next year’s 94th Academy Awards on the left side column of this page. The selection and ranking is based on our own experience of the songs in context of the movies, reactions of Academy music branch members and others in the film music community, historical data, the level of awards campaigning and awareness of the competing titles and the response to the movies in other categories. The order of the titles in the ranking is likely to shift as some movies have yet to be released or are early in their release cycle and more reactions are coming in. Predictions in the Original Score have previously been published here.
The Frontrunners:
- No Time to Die (from No Time to Die): Written by Billie Eilish & Finneas O’Donnell, Performed by Billie Eilish
- Be Alive (from King Richard): Written by Dixson & Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Performed by Beyoncé
- Just Look Up (from Don’t Look Up): Written by Nicholas Britell, Taura Stinson, Scott Mescudi (Kid Cudi) & Ariana Grande, Performed by Ariana Grande & Kid Cudi
- Guns Go Bang (from The Harder They Fall): Written by Jeymes Samuel, Scott Mescudi (Kid Cudi), Shawn Carter (Jay-Z), Performed by Kid Cudi and JAY-Z
- Dos Oruguitas (from Encanto): Written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Performed by Sebastián Yatra
Runner-ups:
- Every Letter (from Cyrano): Written by Bryce Dessner & Aaron Dessner (music) and Matt Berninger & Carin Dessner (lyrics), Performed by Peter Dinklage, Haley Bennett & Kelvin Harrison Jr.
- So May We Start – (from Annette): Written by Ron Mael, Russell Mael & LC, Performed by Sparks, Adam Driver, Marion Cotillard feat. Simon Helberg.
- Somehow You Do (from Four Good Days): Written by Diane Warren. Performed by Reba McEntire
- Here I Am (Singing My Way Home) (from Respect): Written by Carole King, Jennifer Hudson & Jamie Hartman
- Your Song Saved My Life (from Sing 2): Written and Performed by U2
- Call Me Cruella (from Cruella): Written by Nicholas Britell & Florence Welch, Performed by Florence + The Machine
- Believe (from The Rescue): Written by Daniel Pemberton, Aloe Blacc & Gary Go, Performed by Aloe Blacc
- Down to Joy (from Belfast): Written and Performed by Van Morrison
- Beyond the Shore (from CODA): Written by Nick Baxter, Siân Heder, Marius de Vries & Matt Dahan, Performed by Emilia Jones
- The Anonymous Ones (from Dear Evan Hansen): Written by Benj Pasek, Justin Paul & Amandla Stenberg, Performed by Amandla Stenberg
The Academy will announce a short list of 15 original songs (and scores) later this week and our predictions will be updated accordingly. The nominations for the 94th Academy Awards will be announced on February 8, 2022 and the awards ceremony is set to take place on March 27
