2021 Oscar Predictions: ORIGINAL SONG (December)

I’m still banking on Diane Warren being a top contender but despite having three songs in possible contention, I’m going to work on the assumption that the music branch will probably coalesce around just one and it’s hard to imagine it won’t be “lo Sì” (Seen)” from The Life Ahead.

The top 5 this month is full of risers, with “Speak Now” from One Night in Miami…, “Husavik (My Hometown)” from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga and “Just Sing” from Trolls: World Tour re-shaping the chart.

“Wear Your Crown” from The Prom falls after a single month in the top 5 but I’m looking to “Poverty Porn,” from multi-hyphenate Radha Blank’s directorial debut The Forty-Year Old Version, to make a dent in the race.

New this month are “Wuhan Flu” from Borat Subsequent Moviefilm and “The Plan” from Tenet, the latter of which just received a Best Song nomination from the Music City Film Critics Association this week.

Here are my ranked 2021 Oscar predictions in Original Song for December.

Green – moves up; Red – moves down; Blue – new entry this month

1. “lo Sì” (Seen)” from The Life Ahead (Netflix)
Written by Diane Warren

2. “Rocket to the Moon” from Over the Moon (Netflix)
Written by Christopher Curtis, Marjorie Duffield & Helen Park

3. “Speak Now” from One Night in Miami… (Amazon Studios)
Written by Leslie Odom, Jr. and Sam Ashworth

4. “Husavik (My Hometown)” from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (Netflix)
Written by Fat Max Gsus, Rickard Göransson, and Savan Kotecha

5. “Just Sing” from Trolls: World Tour (DreamWorks Animation)
Written by Justin Timberlake, Ludwig Göransson, Max Martin and Sarah Aarons

6. “Wear Your Crown” from The Prom (Netflix)
Written by Adam Anders, Peer Astrom, Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin

7. “Hear My Voice” from The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix)
Music by Daniel Pemberton; Lyrics by Daniel Pemberton and Celeste Waite

8. “Poverty Porn” from The Forty-Year Old Version (Netflix)
Written by Radha Blank, Music by Khrysis

9. “Loyal Brave True” from Mulan (Disney+)
Written by Jamie Hartman, Harry Gregson-Williams, Rosi Golan and Billy Crabtree, and produced by Jamie Hartman

10. “Carried Me With You” from Onward (Pixar)
Written by Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth and Tim Hanseroth

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Other Contenders (alphabetical by song title)

“Come and Play with Me” from Promising Young Woman (Focus Features)
Written by Romy Flores and Andy Rosen

“Everybody Cries” from The Outpost (Screen Media Films)
Written by Rod Lurie, Larry Groupé and Rita Wilson

“Free” from The One and Only Ivan (Disney+)
Written by Diane Warren

“Future” from The Way I See It (Focus Features)
Written by Aloe Blacc

“Identical” from On the Rocks (A24/Apple TV+)
Written by Phoenix

“Last Laugh” from Promising Young Woman (Focus Features)
Written by Cari Fletcher, Tim Sommers and Jeremy Dussolliet

“Love Myself” from The High Note (Focus Features)
Written by Sarah Aarons and Greg Kurstin

“Make You Mine This Season” from Happiest Season (Hulu)
Written by Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin

“Never Break” from Giving Voice (Netflix)
Written by John Legend, Nasri Atweh, Benjamin Hudson McIldowie, Greg Wells

“Only the Young” from Miss Americana (Netflix)
Written by Taylor Swift and Joel Little

“The Plan” from Tenet (Warner Bros)
Written by Travis Scott

“Purify” from Sound of Metal (Amazon Studios)
Written by Olivia Cooke & Margaret Chardiet

“Queen Bee” from Emma. (Focus Features)
Written by Johnny Flynn

“See What You’ve Done” from Belly of the Beast (PBS Independent Lens)
Written by Mary J. Blige, Darhyl Camper, Jr., Denisia Andrews and Brittany Coney

“Staring at the Mountain” from Never Rarely Sometimes Always (Focus Features)
Written by Sharon Van Etten

“Turntables” from All In: The Fight for Democracy (Amazon Studios)
Written by Janelle Monáe, Nathaniel Irvin III and George “George 2.0.” A. Peters II

“Uh Oh” from Promising Young Woman (Focus Features)
Written by Cynthia Nabozny, Matias Mora and Mia Minichiello

“Without a Net” from Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story (Shout! Factory)
Written by Diane Warren

“Wuhan Flu” from Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (Amazon Studios)
Written by Sacha Baron Cohen, Erran Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Peter Baynham, Erica Rivinoja, Dan Swimer, Jena Friedman, Jim Russell, Jerry Holleman

The Forty-Year Old Version image courtesy of Jeong Park/Netflix