Oscars Week — The Music Awards


On Sunday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will hand out its annual awards, the Oscars. Until then, it's time to take a look at the races. Today, I turn my focus to the musical categories.

Best Original Score:
* La La Land
* Jackie
* Lion
* Moonlight
* Passengers

About: There's plenty of quality contenders in this race, including three of the Best Picture nominees. You could make a case for several of these films, but "La La Land" is not only a musical, but the Best Picture nominee with the most nominations and the favorite to win. Also, "La La Land" has an incredible score that has been incredibly popular and memorable. It's the favorite here and should come out on top.

Best Original Song:
* "Audition," La La Land
* "City of Stars," La La Land
* "How Far I'll Go," Moana
* "Can't Stop The Feeling," Trolls
* "The Empty Chair," Jim: the James Foley Story

About: This is another tough category, which also features two nominated songs from "La La Land." It's a good field this year full of plenty of catchy tunes. There's two schools of thought. First, it would be that "La La Land" is the clear front-runner. Second is that with two nominees in the field, "La La Land" might split the votes, opening it up for another contender. Lin Manuel Miranda, who's insanely popular and riding the "Hamilton" wave, worked on the song from "Moana," and that makes it an interesting contender. So, too, is the ear worm of the summer from Justin Timberlake courtesy of the film "Trolls." My personal favorite in the field is "Audition," which is a beautiful piece and, to me, the emotional high point in "La La Land." Emma Stone's performance and singing is perfect, too. But I think the real favorite to win is "City of Stars," which has become the film's anthem. It won the Golden Globe and I'd look for a repeat.

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