One of the biggest award ceremonies in the world, that is, The Academy Awards, is to be held on March 4th, 2018. This year will be the 90th year for the Oscars. Only best of the best make it to this platform; even being nominated for this prestigious award is an achievement itself. But sadly only one, that is, the finest takes the award home. The categories vary from actors to documentaries, including all aspects of cinematography. So let’s have a quick review of the Best Song Category nominees for this year’s Oscars and hope for the best song to take the award.

All the nominated songs are beautiful and unique in their own manner, so we can only imagine how hard it must be to choose one among the five nominated songs.

  1. “Mighty River” from “Mudbound”
    (Written by Mary J. Blige, Raphael Saadiq, and Taura StinsonPerformed by Mary J. Blige)


    Mighty River plays an important role by musically describing the main points of the movie Mudbound such as PTSD faced by the soldiers and racism during the era of World War II. The song has a beautiful and soft tune to it and rather more beautiful lyrics, in which time is being compared to a river. Its simple lyrics are artistically described which holds more meaning than 1000 words. The song is a declaration of peace, a plea for humanity to bury the animosity among us humans. The song may have a dull bass and music which is not powerful, but the singer’s voice resonates beautifully bringing the listener’s attention to the words and their meaning.
  2. “Stand Up For Something” from “Marshall”
    (Written by Lonnie R. Lynn and Diane WarrenMusic by Diane WarrenPerformed by Andra Day feat. Common)
    The song has a powerful rhythm to it but that’s not the only powerful thing about it. The lyrics are power-packed and filled with passion.“But it’s all worthless treasure, true worth is only measured not by what you got but what you got in your heart”.The song tells us that all of our possessions are superficial and hold no meaning. The only thing which truly matters is what we all hold in our hearts. It encourages us to stand up for things we believe in, to fight for things more important than money, like respect and dignity. The song has a strong beat which does not overpower the singer’s voice but adds fuel to strengthen the lyrics.
  3. “Mystery Of Love” from “Call Me By Your Name”, Sufjan Stevens
    (Written by Sufjan StevensPerformed by Sufjan Stevens)
    This song, unlike all the other nominees, describes the misery of being in love with someone who loves you back but with whom you can never be with. The song goes well with the plot of the movie Call Me By Your Name which describes being in a same-sex relationship in the 1980s where such relations were frowned upon. The story is about two young lovers who are not only separated by 1000 miles but also by the old morals of the life back in that era. The music is simple and the singer’s voice has a soothing touch, describing the sweet agony of love. It beautifully portrays the wonders of being in love for the first time and goes on to describe the pain of a broken heart.  “Like Hephaestion, who died Alexander’s lover. Now my riverbed has dried, shall I find no other?” The song has a questioning tone to it, asking us how such a pain is to be dealt with. If the person should move on and find a new lover or pine after someone he knows will never be his.
  4. “Remember me” from “Coco”
    (Written by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert LopezPerformed by Natalia Lafourcade, Miguel, Benjamin Bratt, Gael García Bernal, Anthony Gonzalez, Ana Ofelia Murguía)
    Remember me plays a major role in the movie Coco,  being a key song sung by the father to her daughter as a lullaby and is also sung by his great-great-grandson to his great-grandmother Coco to remind her of her father. The song has a happy beat to it which goes well with the singer who has a carefree and cheerful voice. The song is a request by a father to his daughter, asking her to remember him even if they’re not together all the time. A plea to his daughter to keep him and his love for her alive within her heart.

    “If you close your eyes and let the music play, keep our love alive I’ll never fade away”.

    It has a nostalgic feeling to it. The song switches between English and Spanish thus keeping it interesting.

  5. “This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman”
    (Written by Benj Pasek and Justin PaulPerformed by Keala Settle)
    This Is Me plays an important role in the movie by describing the humiliation the people who are not normal feel, how unwanted and how unwelcomed they feel because of the uptight rules of society.

    “I’m not a stranger to the dark. Hide away, they say ‘cause we don’t want your broken parts. I’ve learned to be ashamed of all my scars. Run away, they say no one will love you the way you are”.

    It has a beautiful meaning, telling us to accept people who are different from us. It’s not a plea for understanding or acceptance, it is a statement made by them.

    “I’m not scared to be seen I make no apologies, this is me”.

    It takes a slow start but soon becomes powerful. The song is about self-acceptance, to appreciate yourself, to love yourself just the way you are. It tells us not to be scared by the judging and prying eyes and urges us to come out of our shells.

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