Oscars 2025: Is this the worst ‘Best Original Song’ run in the history of the Academy Awards?
Historically, the category for ‘Best Original Song’ at the Academy Awards has sought to celebrate the teams behind some of the year’s most impactful songs and scores. It honours those who know the power of integrating impactful musical scores into film, with many having gone to some of the most culturally defining musical creators and storytelling masters of all time. Why, therefore, does this year seem to be lacking?
Granted, amid the broader scope of nominees throughout the years, the ‘Best Original Song’ hasn’t typically stood out as one of the strongest, but previous years have certainly celebrated some of the best teams and names in film score history. Last year, for instance, it was Billie Eilish who stole the spotlight after taking home the award for her work on the popular Barbie ballad ‘What Was I Made For?’.
Beyond the song’s undeniable charm was its crossover into mainstream audiences, made possible both by Eilish’s widespread popularity and the global fascination with the Greta Gerwig-helmed movie itself. However, since last year, the talent pool seems to have narrowed, with the 2025 category having little to show off and even fewer standouts.
As Emilia Pérez becomes a significant forerunner in multiple categories, its accompanying score follows suit with two songs nominated for ‘Best Original Song’, including ‘El Mal’ and ‘Mi Camino’. Other candidates include ‘Never Too Late’ from Elton John’s documentary musical, alongside the Diane Warren-penned poignant track ‘The Journey’ for The Six Triple Eight, and ‘Like A Bird’ from prison drama Sing Sing.
However, while it seems necessary to commend this collection for its diversity, it seems to be lacking more immensely than any previous year, proving the pre-established scepticism about its validity among other categories. While the teams behind these songs should be recognised for their impact, the weakness that threatens to define the category signals a broader shift away from honouring those who work on original scores.
Over the years, eclipsing the category’s importance has stemmed from an array of misunderstandings, from omitting certain songs altogether to a collective misinterpretation about what the ‘Best Original Song’ should—and could—be. Eilish’s self-reflective epic signalled a momentary break, especially in recent years, towards more genuinely hard-hitting scores that are just as important as the stories themselves.
This year, however, those named seem to point towards a broader sweeping statement about the importance of music in terms of where it’s placed in a broader narrative and why it serves importance. While many of the films, especially Emilia Pérez, continue to uphold inherent cultural and societal significance for various reasons, the songs themselves pale in comparison, making it seem that the critics were right about the category being nothing but mere filler.
While that’s not to say that the songs themselves are bad, they seem to epitomise a more glaring lack of focus, especially when considering the value of lasting impact, of which it is difficult to see many containing. The Academy might have recently explained their ploy to move away from singers to spotlighting teams and songwriters themselves, but even nobility such as this doesn’t seem to distract from the fact that this year’s category falters in ways that are difficult to describe.
However, maybe this was an inevitable development, considering that some of the best and biggest highlights for nominations and performers over the years seem few and far between. After all, except for Eilish, Björk, Lady Gaga, and a mere handful of others, perhaps the ‘Best Original Song’ category was always destined to deflate.
