(Updated: 2/28/2010, 2:45p) We have another one-two punch today as we look at the music categories at the Oscars: Best Original Score and Best Original Song. Like with our documentary and short film categories yesterday, we’ll split the score and song categories into two separate five-part fact sheets, then offer up our predictions in both categories and list some of our favorite and least favorite compositions and songs.

Trivia: Five Facts: Song

• The first award for Best Song went to “The Continental” from The Gay Divrocee in 1934, the 7th Academy Awards.
• 141 Oscars have been awarded for Original Song.
• Out of the 75 winners of this award, only three songs have been sung entirely in a foreign language. One was “Never on Sunday”, from the film of the same name, was sung in Greek (although a separate English-language track was recorded and widely released) in 1960 from the film of the same name. The second is the Spanish-language tune “Al Otro Lado del Rio” from The Motorcycle Diaries winning the award in 2004. The third was last year when “Jai Ho” one of two nominated songs from Slumdog Millionaire won the award.
• Sammy Cahn is the champion song nominee, earning 26 nominations. His closest competitor is Johnny Mercer with 18 followed by Paul Francis Webster with 16, Alan and Marilyn Bergman (the most successful husband-wife team in Oscar history) with 15, James Van Heusen with 14 and Alan Menken with 13. The most honored is a 4-way tie between Sammy Cahn, Alan Menken, Johnny Mercer and James Van Heusen with three each. Behind them are Ray Evans, Jay Livingston, Tim Rice, Harry Warren and Paul Francis Webster with three each.
• Presently, the Original Song contenders are presented to the music branch with a clip from the film in which the song is performed. This has given rise to a lower number of nominations for end credit songs.

Trivia: Five Facts: Score

• Also instituted in 1934, scoring has not only gone through myriad name changes like the writing awards, but it is also one of the few branches that has had a regular fluctuation in the number of categories. One category from 1934 to 1937 and again in 1957, 1985 to 1994, and 1999 to present, two categories from 1938 to 1956, 1958 to 1984, and 1995-1998.
• A total of 159 Oscars have been given out. Academy records reflect The Beatles as one entity, but I have included all four (John, Paul, George & Ringo) in this count.
• The music branch has been the most friendly group to horror films. Nominees in this category have included: Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte in 1964, Jaws in 1975, The Omen in 1976, The Amityville Horror in 1979, Poltergeist in 1982, Interview with the Vampire in 1994 and The Village in 2004. Only two won the award: Jaws & The Omen.
• Barely holding onto the record for most nominations is Alfred Newman who scored a staggering 41 Oscar nominees. Nipping at his heels and likely to pass him before too long is John Williams with a mind-numbing 40 nominations. The next name on the list isn’t even close with 20, and that’s Max Steiner who infamously lost Original Score for one of his most famous themes (Gone With the Wind) to the song score of The Wizard of Oz. Next in line are Victor Young with 19, and Jerry Goldsmith, Ray Heindorf and Morris Stoloff with 17 each. The most honored in this category is again Alfred Newman with 9 wins followed more comfortably distant by John Williams with 5, and then John Barry, Johnny Green, Alan Menken and André Previn with four each.
• In 1972, The Godfather’s composer Nino Rota was declared ineligible after having been announced as a nominee. Part of his score for the film was used in the 1958 film Fortunella, which he also composed. Reballoting was performed and his nomination was removed in favor of Sleuth by John Addison

Predictions

Best Original Song

• “Almost There” – The Princess and the Frog (Wesley, Peter)
• “Down in New Orleans” – The Princess and the Frog
• “Loin de Paname” – Paris 36 (Tripp)
• “Take It All” – Nine
• “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” – Crazy Heart (Wesley, Peter, Tripp)

Best Original Score

• Avatar (Wesley, Tripp)
• Fantastic Mr. Fox (Peter)
• The Hurt Locker
• Sherlock Holmes
• Up (Wesley, Peter, Tripp)

KEY: (Winner Prediction) (Alternate Winner)

The Commentary

Wesley Lovell – Original Song: “The Weary Kind” has mostly swept the board of precursors and since it’s a song about music in a film about a washed-up artist using the song to rise from the ashes, a lot of songwriters might relate. “Almost There” is a song filled with hope and aspirations, which could be a welcome respite to the weariness of many other nominees in this category. And we know how much this group loves hope.; Original Score: Up has been winning all sorts of awards for Score, but one can’t help but think Avatar could rise out of the sea on a tide of support for the film and take the trophy.
Peter J. Patrick – Original Song: From “The Last Time I Saw Paris” to “Falling Slowly”, songs whose creation are part of the plot have a leg up on the competition. The Weary Kind is that kind of song.; Original Score: Up has deservedly already won a number of awards for Michael Giacchino’s outstanding score. I see no reason why the Academy won’t follow suit.
Tripp Burton – Original Song: The Weary Kind has been getting the most attention in this category, which may or may not be helpful. It is essential to the film (one that most voters are sure to watch), it has been played quite a bit outside of the film (I even saw Bingham sing it on David Letterman) and it would honor Hollywood stalwart T-Bone Burnett with his first Oscar. Sometimes this attention does not help a film, but it should here for the reason that there is no other real alternative. If anything comes close, I am going out on a limb and saying it will be the song from Paris 36, which is just as essential to the story of the film as The Weary Kind, and remembering that there have been a couple off the wall wins here this year, and there have even been a couple of foreign-language songs to win.; Original Score: Like this category in most years, I would not be shocked if any of these films win. This is a category that is open to unexpected choices, and for everything it goes along with a streak it can also easily be the category to break a streak. Here, I think they will finally honor Michael Giacchino and the Pixar music department. Up is one of the most praised scores of the year, and the scores to Avatar and The Hurt Locker are not among their most memorable achievements.

Our Favorite Winners

KEY:
Appears on Two Lists
Appears on Three Lists
Appears on Four Lists
Appears on Opposing Lists

Wesley Lovell

Original Song

1. “Over the Rainbow” – The Wizard of Oz (You can’t go wrong with this iconic song, perhaps one of the most recognizable tunes ever written for a motion picture.)
2. “Moon River” – Breakfast at Tiffany’s (It’s classic beauty and elegance fits perfectly within the framework of the film.)
3. “Beauty and the Beast” – Beauty and the Beast (No song written for a Disney film has captured the beauty of storytelling or passion of fairy tales quite like this one. The Angela Lansbury rendition is the essential version.)
4. “Theme from Shaft” – Shaft (Not only is it catchy, but it showed the Academy could stretch out from where it felt comfortable and recognize an inventive piece of songwriting.)
5. “Falling Slowly” – Once (It’s a gorgeous melody and a simple lyric. It embodies what the category should be.)

Original Score

1. Jaws (Tension. The simplicity of this score proves that sometimes horror doesn’t need a complex theme to frighten its audience.)
2. Star Wars (There is no original theme on the big screen that is more memorable than this John Williams classic.)
3. Schindler’s List (John Williams takes his third spot on my list with his biggest departure to date. Quietly escaping his traditional melodies, the Schindler’s List theme and score is gorgeous and sorrowful at the same time.)
4. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Howard Shore’s essential work for The Lord of the Rings films is embodied in the soaring theme for The Fellowship of the Ring. It’s a melody iterated upon in the other films to become one of the most memorable in history.)
5. Chariots of Fire (The theme to this film alone is universally recognizable, even if the name of it isn’t. Vangelis’ work has not varied nearly as much as we would have hoped after this film, but there’s no denying the impact this theme had.)

Peter J. Patrick

Original Song

1. “Over the Rainbow” – The Wizard of Oz (wistful ballad that has deservedly endured as a popular favorite for more than 70 years. )
2. “Moon River” – Breakfast at Tiffany’s (another wistful ballad that has endured for almost fifty years.)
3. “Lullaby of Broadway” – Gold Diggers of 1935 (one of the great show business anthems.)
4. “Beauty and the Beast” – Beauty and the Beast (glorious fairy tale lesson in song.)
5. “White Christmas” – Holiday Inn (wistful wartime holiday song that became such an intricate part of the culture we sometimes forget it was written for a film. )

Original Score

1. The Adventures of Robin Hood (Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s magnificent score by which all adventure film scores have since been judged.)
2. Now, Voyager (Max Seiner’s stirring score doesn’t quite make up for his loss for Gone With the Wind to The Wizard of Oz, but it comes close. )
3. Lawrence of Arabia (Maurice Jarre’s magnificent score was one of many reasons this was one of the great films.)
4. The Lion in Winter (John Barry’s soaring score sets the tone for the film and doesn’t let up.)
5. A Place in the Sun (Franz Waxman’s underscoring hits all the right notes.)

Tripp Burton

Original Song

1. “I’m Easy” – Nashville (A great film song not only sounds great but plays an important role in the film it is written for, and there been few musical moments as heart-breaking as Keith Carradine singing this song)
2. “Over the Rainbow” – The Wizard of Oz (I feel a little obvious picking this, but sometimes a choice becomes obvious because it is really the best)
3. “Sooner or Later” – Dick Tracy (A wonderful choice (even if it wasn’t the best song in the film), and I will never begrudge an award for Stephen Sondheim)
4. “Whatever Will Be (Que Sera Sera)” – The Man Who Knew Too Much (A lovely little song that stands on its own, but when played within the film takes on a fascinating power)
5. “Lose Yourself” – 8 Mile (There have been better songs to win this, but like the “Theme from Shaft” 30 years before, it is such outrageous choice for the Academy to make (honoring a rap song) that I have to champion the choice)

Original Score

1. Lawrence of Arabia (The main theme is now my ringtone, and there is a very good reason for that: it’s the best)
2. Star Wars (John Williams runs very hot and cold with me, but this may be his best work)
3. Sunset Boulevard (Franz Waxman’s haunting score is essential to making this a perfect film)
4. Jaws (Still a frightening and effective score 35 years later)
5. The Red Violin (A surprise win, and most surprises aren’t nearly this good)

Our Least Favorite Winners

KEY:
Appears on Two Lists
Appears on Three Lists
Appears on Four Lists
Appears on Opposing Lists

Wesley Lovell

Original Song

1. “You’ll Be in My Heart” – Tarzan (This song tops the list simply because it snowballed to other bad songs winning the award. That it beat out “When She Loved Me” is a travesty. That it led to Randy Newman winning later for an inferior song is unforgivable.)
2. “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” – Hustle & Flow (Continuing the tradition of the Academy recognizing hip hop music as long as it was integral to the story, this song has virtually nothing memorable about it.)
3. “If I Didn’t Have You” – Monsters, Inc. (This is the song Randy Newman won for. It’s not even better than three of the remaining nominees and at least one of them stinks. “May It Be” was a far more deserving winner and might have done so had Newman not been beaten by pop star Phil Collins two years earlier.)
4. “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” – The Lion King (Thankfully it wasn’t “Hakuna Matata”, but this was proof that the Disney ballad was more powerful at the Oscars than anything else. It wasn’t even the best song in the film, beating out the far superior “Circle of Life”.)
5. “Under the Sea” – The Little Mermaid (Another instance where the best song in a film lost to an inferior effort. For once it twas the energetic song and not the ballad that managed to win. And even though also-nominated “Kiss the Girl” is a better song, the two best works in The Little Mermaid weren’t even nominated.)

Original Score

1. A Little Night Music (One of the worst adaptations in the history of film. When I first saw this was nominated and had won the Oscar, I thought how bad could it be if it is written by the great Stephen Sondheim. It was really bad. Many of the best songs are excised from the film entirely, the themes barely present in certain scenes.)
2. Tom Jones (One trait characterizes the rest of the films on my list: I don’t remember a single thing about them. The films remain relatively fresh in my mind, but I couldn’t tell you what was special about their scores because I don’t remember them, one of the characteristics of a bad composition.)
3. The Full Monty (see Tom Jones)
4. The Best Years of Our Lives (see Tom Jones)
5. Babel (see Tom Jones and how this could have won is a mystery to me. Gustavo Santaolalla already won an Oscar, so it’s not like they had anything to make up for.)

Peter J. Patrick

Original Song

1. “Theme from Shaft” – Shaft (great rhythm but what about the lyrics? They tell me there were some but all I’ve ever heard is “Shaft…Shaft”)
2. “I Need to Wake Up” – An Inconvenient Truth (obvious message song that if I recall correctly was tacked onto the closing credits of the documentary.)
3. “Sooner of Later (I Always Get My Man)” – Dick Tracy (substandard Sondheim.)
4. “Into the West” – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Eh.)
5. “When You Believe” – The Prince of Egypt (when you shout it’s difficult to understand what you’re singing.)

Original Score

1. Thoroughly Modern Millie (it’s such a shame that this clever at best score represents the only win for the great Elmer Bernstein.)
2. The Old Man and the Sea (Dimitri Tiomkin’s score was derivative of most of his other work.)
3. A Double Life (not Miklos Rosza’s best.)
4. One Hundred Men and a Girl (an oddity with the Oscar going to Charles Previn, the head of Universal’s music department as there was no credited composer.)
5. All That Money Can Buy (it’s a great score but Bernard Herrmann’s Oscar should have been for the other film he was nominated for that year – Citizen Kane. )

Tripp Burton

Original Song

1. “Love is a Many Splendored Thing” – Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (A horrible song from a horrible movie)
2. “Sweet Leilani” – Waikiki Wedding (One of the more baffling Oscar choices is how anyone thought anything about this song was good)
3. “Colors of the Wind” – Pocahontas (A grating song from a lousy movie that only won because for some reason people thought this award had to go to a Disney song)
4. “I Need to Wake Up” – An Inconvenient Truth (I remember nothing about this song in a movie that is too easily forgettable)
5. “I Just Called to Say I Love You” – The Woman in Red (One of those songs that may be fine, but has always driven me up the wall)

Original Score

1. Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (See Best Song, choice #1)
2. Finding Neverland (Everything about this movie is obvious and stale, including the music)
3. Frida (I don’t even remember there being music in this film)
4. The Full Monty (Not a bad choice, except that there is barely any original music in the film)
5. Chariots of Fire (Maybe I have been tainted by the ridiculous over-use of the main theme, but this is a score I have always found more laughable than inspiring)