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91 Original Songs Vie for 2016 Oscar - your guide to how Best Song is determined

Today, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 91 songs from eligible feature-length motion pictures released in 2016 are in contention for nominations in the Original Song category for the 89th Academy Awards®.

What does it take to even be considered for an Oscar nomination for Best Song? To be eligible, a song must consist of words and music, both of which are original and written specifically for the film. A clearly audible, intelligible, substantive rendition of both lyric and melody must be used in the body of the film or as the first music cue in the end credits.

And what does it take to win for Best Song? To win Best Song at the Oscars, the song has be more than just a catchy tune that everyone loves. The song must tell the story of the film. A good way for you to predict the winning Best Song is to listen to each song by itself and then pick the song that capsulizes the spirit of its corresponding film. Also, in a year as this one, when a musical such as “La La Land,” is favored to win the Oscar for Best Picture, it gives the songs from this film a higher chance of winning. But two songs from one film can be running against each other, which can cause a split in votes and allow another film to win for Best Song. If the Critics Choice Awards, have it right than the song that is in the lead to win as it stands right now is "City Of Stars" from "La La Land."

How are the final nominated songs for Best Songs determined? During the nominations process, all voting members of the Music Branch will receive a Reminder List of works submitted in the category and a compilation of the song clips. Members will be asked to watch the clips and then vote in the order of their preference for not more than five achievements in the category. The five achievements receiving the highest number of votes will become the nominations for final voting for the award. A maximum of two songs may be nominated from any one film.

Nominations for the 89th Oscars® will be announced on Tuesday, January 24, 2017.

The 89th Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 26, 2017, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live on the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The Oscars also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

The original songs, along with the motion picture in which each song is featured, are listed below in alphabetical order by film title and song title:

  • "Just Like Fire" from "Alice through the Looking Glass"

  • "Rise" from "American Wrestler: The Wizard"

  • "Friends" from "The Angry Birds Movie"

  • "Flicker" from "Audrie & Daisy"

  • "Seconds" from "Autumn Lights"

  • "A Minute To Breathe" from "Before the Flood"

  • "Glory (Let There Be Peace)" from "Believe"

  • "Mother's Theme" from "Believe"

  • "Somewhere" from "Believe"

  • "The Only Way Out" from "Ben-Hur"

  • "Still Falling For You" from "Bridget Jones's Baby"

  • "F That" from "The Bronze"

  • "Torch Pt. 2" from "Citizen Soldier"

  • "Drift And Fall Again" from "Criminal"

  • "Take Me Down" from "Deepwater Horizon"

  • "Land Of All" from "Desierto"

  • "Sad But True (Dreamland Theme)" from "Dreamland"

  • "Angel By The Wings" from "The Eagle Huntress"

  • "Blind Pig" from "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them"

  • "One Frame At A Time" from "Floyd Norman: An Animated Life"

  • "I'm Crying" from "Free State of Jones"

  • "Gold" from "Gold"

  • "Champion" from "Hands of Stone"

  • "Dance Rascal, Dance" from "Hello, My Name Is Doris"

  • "I See A Victory" from "Hidden Figures"

  • "Runnin" from "Hidden Figures"

  • "Sixty Charisma Scented Blackbirds" from "How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate

  • Can't Change"

  • "My Superstar" from "Ice Age: Collision Course"

  • "Seeing You Around" from "Ithaca"

  • "The Empty Chair" from "Jim: The James Foley Story"

  • "Audition (The Fools Who Dream)" from "La La Land"

  • "City Of Stars" from "La La Land"

  • "Start A Fire" from "La La Land"

  • "Cateura Vamos A Soñar (We Will Dream)" from "Landfill Harmonic"

  • "Better Love" from "The Legend of Tarzan"

  • "Never Give Up" from "Lion"

  • "Equation" from "The Little Prince"

  • "Turnaround" from "The Little Prince"

  • "Moonshine" from "Live By Night"

  • "Loving" from "Loving"

  • "Hurry Home" from "Max Rose"

  • "Gone 2015" from "Miles Ahead"

  • "Wish That You Were Here" from "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children"

  • "I'm Still Here" from "Miss Sharon Jones!"

  • "How Far I'll Go" from "Moana"

  • "We Know The Way" from "Moana"

  • "Even More Mine" from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2"

  • "Waving Goodbye" from "The Neon Demon"

  • "I'm Back" from "Never Surrender"

  • "Find My Victory" from "Olympic Pride, American Prejudice"

  • "On Ghost Ridge" from "100 Years: One Woman's Fight for Justice"

  • "Ordinary World" from "Ordinary World"

  • "Devil's Girl" from "Outlaws and Angels"

  • "Levitate" from "Passengers"

  • "Ginga" from "Pelé: Birth of a Legend"

  • "Nobody Knows" from "Pete's Dragon"

  • "Something Wild" from "Pete's Dragon"

  • "Dancing With Your Shadow" from "Po"

  • "I'm So Humble" from "Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping"

  • "Stay Here" from "Presenting Princess Shaw"

  • "Celebrate Life" from "Queen Mimi"

  • "Back To Life" from "Queen of Katwe"

  • "Let The Games Begin" from "Race"

  • "Think About It" from "The Red Pill"

  • "The Rules Don't Apply" from "Rules Don't Apply"

  • "The Great Beyond" from "Sausage Party"

  • "Faith" from "Sing"

  • "Set It All Free" from "Sing"

  • "Drive It Like You Stole It" from "Sing Street"

  • "Go Now" from "Sing Street"

  • "The Veil" from "Snowden"

  • "Hymn" from "Snowtime!"

  • "Kiss Me Goodnight" from "Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four"

  • "Holdin' Out" from "Storks"

  • "Heathens" from "Suicide Squad"

  • "Flying Home" from "Sully"

  • "Montage" from "Swiss Army Man"

  • "Petit Metier" from "They Will Have to Kill Us First - Malian Music in Exile"

  • "Letter To The Free" from "13th"

  • "Down With Mary" from "Too Late"

  • "Can't Stop The Feeling" from "Trolls"

  • "Get Back Up Again" from "Trolls"

  • "Smile" from "The Uncondemned"

  • "We Will Rise" from "Veeram-Macbeth"

  • "LA Venus" from "We Are X"

  • "New Dogs, Old Tricks" from "What Happened Last Night"

  • "Runnin' Runnin'" from "What Happened Last Night"

  • "What's Happening Today" from "What Happened Last Night"

  • "Who I Am" from "What Happened Last Night"

  • "The Ballad Of Wiener-Dog" from "Wiener-Dog"

  • "Try Everything" from "Zootopia"

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