The Best Song Podcast

The final episode of The Best Song Podcast sort of comes full circle to the first Original Song Oscar nominees of 1934, with a big song-and-dance number among the 2023 nominees and of course, a sentimental love song. Mixed in with that is yet another nomination from Diane Warren, and the first song to be nominated using lyrics from a Native American language. Find out more about these nominees on episode 91! A big thank you to everyone who tuned in to the show and learned something about movie music that will enhance your movie-watching experience.

The crop of Oscar-nominated songs from 2022 come from two sequels, one little-seen film about female empowerment, one big-budget musical from India, and the eventual Best Picture Oscar winner. All of them beat out a song from Taylor Swift for the Oscar nomination, and before the nominations, all five had an equal shot at winning. Which one eventually took home the prize? Find out on this episode!

The five Oscar-nominated songs of 2021 feature Beyonce earning her first nomination for writing the anthemic song giving tribute to the famous tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, as well as the chart-topping theme song to Danie Craig's final movie as James Bond. Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas O'Connell wrote that song and released it in February 2020, giving "No Time to Die" 20 months to earn the public's praise as the Bond film suffered two COVID release delays. Did the extended runway for the song help it take off and earn an Oscar for the O'Connell siblings? Find out on this episode of The Best Song Podcast!

The COVID pandemic forced film studios to adjust release dates of their big movies, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences followed suit by adjusting the eligibility dates for their 2021 ceremony. The result meant some songs nominated for the Oscar came from films released in January and February 2021. Diane Warren was the only nominated songwriter who had previous Oscar experience, earning nomination 12 for a song that was translated into Italian for Sophia Loren's latest film. Would Warren win over three songs about political and social upheaval, or one about an Icelandic town performed in the finale of a comedy film?

For the third year in a row, a woman was Oscar nominated for acting and songwriting in the same year. In 2019, that was Cynthia Erivo, the Tony Award-winning actress from The Color Purple who played abolitionist Harriet Tubman in the movie Harriet and wrote the song "Stand Up" with Joshuah Brian Campell. Their Oscar competition included previous Oscar winners Randy Newman, Elton John, Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. Did Erivo win her first Oscar, or did an Oscar veteran pick up another statuette? Find out on this episode of The Best Song Podcast!

The much-anticipated arrival of Bradley Cooper's directorial debut, the remake of A Star Is Born, gave us an Oscar-nominated song from Lady Gaga that kept the streak alive of all the remakes at least getting a nominated song. In this episode, you'll hear the nominated song from the 2018 version, "Shallow," and learn about the four songs that battled with it for the year's Academy Award. That includes Kendrick Lamar's entry into the movie song game, and one from Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman for the Mary Poppins sequel.

Diane Warren earned Oscar nomination number nine for her song "Stand Up for Something," a song that highlights the motto of future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and the subject of the 2017 film Marshall. On this episode of The Best Song Podcast, you'll hear her nominated song that she co-wrote with Oscar winner Common, and the four songs competing for the big prize. That includes a song of empowerment written by the reigning Oscar champs and a multi-use by the husband-and-wife team that brought us "Let It Go."

The live-action musical La La Land was primed to take over the 89th Academy Awards as the frontrunner for Best Picture, and its chances of winning multiple awards included Best Original Song, where two tunes from the movie were nominated. On this episode, learn more about the men who created those songs -- Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul -- and the writers of the other three nominated songs. Lin-Manuel Miranda earned his first Oscar nomination that year, as did Justin Timberlake for the most popular song of 2016.

Pulitzer Prize winner David Lang joins the show to talk about earning his first Oscar nomination, and the process behind writing the nominated song "Simple Song #3" for the movie Youth. Lang details the journey he and director Paolo Sorrentino took to deliver the song, and how a Google search helped him find the lyrics he needed to tell the song's story. You'll also hear the other nominated songs, written and performed by superstar pop singers Sam Smith, Lady Gaga, and The Weeknd, as well as a message song about dying marine wildlife by the first transgender person to receive an Original Song Oscar nomination.

Three of the five Oscar-nominated songs from 2014 come from movies about musicians, including a documentary about the final tour of country music legend Glen Campbell. And then there's a comedic song about using teamwork to make things awesome, and a message song about equal rights for "every man, woman, and child." Learn more about these songs, and the men and women who created them on episode 82 of The Best Song Podcast.