It’s Oscar season, which brings with it the usual speculation of who will win what (will Leo finally win for his role in The Revenant???). But this year, the year of the 88th annual Academy Awards, we’ve got some pretty strong pop contenders for the Best Original Song category.
The nominees are Sam Smith’s “Writing’s On The Wall” from Spectre, Lady Gaga and Diane Warren’s “Til It Happens To You” from The Hunting Ground, The Weeknd’s “Earned It” from Fifty Shades of Grey, J. Ralph and Antony’s “Manta Ray” from Racing Extinction, and David Lang’s “Simple Song #3” from Youth.
RTT News reports, “Gaga and Smith, according to many observers, are expected to be the front runners in the category.” Billboard jumped on board the speculation game, and thought that despite Smith’s Golden Globe win for his James Bond tune, the odds were in favor of Lady Gaga’s song.
Regardless of who wins, it seems the nomination is enough to boost both artists’ spots on the Billboard Trending 140. “Upon its nomination, [‘Til It Happens To You’] flew to No. 1 on the Trending 140, its first time leading the list since Jan. 6,” says Billboard. “[‘Writing’s On The Wall’] returned to No. 6 after its nomination was announced, its best showing since reaching the No. 1 position on Jan. 11, one day after its win for best original song at the Golden Globes.”
Lady Gaga had this to say on Twitter about the whole experience: “Thank you to THE ACADEMY for recognizing the movement of people who have come together for this film and song in the name of sexual assault.”
For the benefit of your own Oscar speculations, watch both videos below.