The 2020 Academy Awards nominations were announced yesterday and, as always, numerous would-be contenders were left off the list.
In the Best Original Song category, the nominees are, in alphabetical order…
“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” – Randy Newman (Toy Story 4)
“I’m Gonna Love Me Again” – Elton John (Rocketman)
“I’m Standing With You” – Diane Warren (Breakthrough)
“Into The Unknown” – Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez (Frozen)
“Stand Up” – Cynthia Erivo, Joshua Campbell (Harriet)
Prior to the nominations being announced, most Oscar pundits expected Beyonce’s “Spirit” from The Lion King to get a nod. Alas, it wasn’t to be. But whether Queen B should be on the list may be a moot point because the eventual winner in this category is, apparently, all but decided.
According to Sascha Paruk, at SportsBettingDime.com, Elton John’s “I’m Gonna Love Me Again” is a short 1/2 favorite to win Best Original Song, giving it a 66.6% chance to take home the award.
Every other nominee is between 7/1 (12.5% chance) and 15/1 (6.7%):
“I’m Gonna Love Me Again” – Elton John (67%)
“Into the Unknown” – Kristen Anderson-Lopez (13%)
“Stand Up” – Cynthia Erivo, Joshua Campbell (8%)
“I’m Standing With You” – Diane Warren (6%)
“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” – Randy Newman (6%)
Interestingly, Cynthia Erivo and Joshua Campbell are the only first-time nominees.
Elton John was nominated and won for “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from the original Lion King back in 1994.
Randy Newman has been nominated 12 times (including this year), winning twice for his songs in Monsters Inc. (“If I Didn’t Have You”, 2001) and Toy Story 3 (“We Belong Together”, 2010).
Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez were nominated for their work on Frozen (“Let It Go”) in 2013 and Coco (“Remember Me”) in 2017, and actually won the Oscar both times.
Diane Warren is a name that a lot of casual Oscar watchers won’t recognize, but her resume is one of the longest and most-distinguished in the industry. She has been nominated for 11 Best Original Song awards, dating back to 1987. Excruciatingly, she has not won a single time.
Unfortunately, if Paruk is correct, she will be 0-for-11 after the 2020 ceremony.
The 92nd Academy Awards air live on ABC on February 9. The coverage begins with ‘Live on the Red Carpet’ at 6:30 PM ET.
#Peace.Love.BestOriginalSong
