With the recent announcement of the 95th Academy Award nominees, much discussion has been had about the various snubs and surprises in the major category. Yet one that is particularly interesting is The Best Original Song category, which featured some high-profile nominations but also major snubs. What determines the Best Song Oscar is always a tricky aspect to nail down, as it means different things to different people.

Is the Best Song the one that is the catchiest, one that can work both within the context of the film but also stand apart as a song on its own merit, or is it one that is vital to the movie? Does it lay out the theme of the movie or does it help progress the plot along? There is no right answer, but that also tends to mean many songs get left out of consideration and in 2022 there were plenty of great songs that didn’t get nominated.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

The songs that did get nominated were all great, from Lady Gaga’s power ballad “Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick to the emotionally tearful “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever to the breakout international smash hit “Naatu Naatu” from RRR that seems like the frontrunner. “This Is a Life” from the Oscar frontrunner Everything Everywhere All At Once and “Applause” from Tell It Like A Woman rounded out the five nominees, and it goes to show how strong of a year it was for original songs that there were 10 great songs that got snubbed. Here are the best original songs in movies from 2022 that were snubbed at the Oscars.

Ciao Papa from Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio

     Netflix

Arguably the biggest snub was the omission of “Ciao Papa” from Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio. The song comes over one of the film’s most beautiful moments, in a montage showing Pinocchio on his travels in the circus with Gepetto searching for him to make amends for their fight.

Written and composed by Alexandre Desplat (the Oscar-winning composer for recent Wes Anderson films, whose score for Pinocchio was also snubbed) and sung by star Gregory Mann, the song is a hauntingly bittersweet tune that captures the innocence of childhood juxtaposed with the cruel reality of adulthood. Pinocchio’s “Ciao Papa” is an incredible song and its omission is glaring.

Love Is Not Love from Bros

     Universal Pictures

Bros featured the original song “Love Is Not Love,” a country love ballad in the style of Garth Brooks sung by star Billy Eichner. The song is vital to the film’s plot, as it is the climactic moment of the film that brings the love story home. It recounts much of the film’s plot while also speaking to the central theme of the movie, that this is not a traditional love story but one unique to these two people, and that can be scary to experience.

The song is about opening up to your feelings and expressing them in a pure uncynical way. “Love is Not Love” is a sweet, moving, and fist-pumping emotional winner of a song that brings the whole film together and is a criminally underrated song for a movie that sadly went unnoticed by many audiences.

Sunny Side of Summer from The Bob’s Burgers Movie

     20th Century Studios

The Bob’s Burgers Movie hearkened back to other animated feature-length films by going for a full-on musical, and the film’s opening track, “Sunny Side of the Summer,” sets the tone for the entire film and is a standout not just of the movie but of the entire year. It functions similarly to the classic ‘I Want Song’ found in many Broadway plays and Disney animated films giving insight into each of the main characters’ personal thoughts, desires, and struggles.

It also serves as an introduction to the main characters to both audiences familiar with the series and those watching for the first time. It is catchy and while it may not have made the Best Original Song list, it is certainly a great addition to any summer playlist.

Carolina from Where The Crawdads Sing

     Sony Pictures Releasing

2022 had been Taylor Swift’s year. Her album Midnights received critical acclaim and was featured on multiple Best Albums of the Year, and the album broke Spotify’s record for the most single-day streams of an album was the first time all 10 top-ten songs on the Billboard Top 100 were from the same album.

The popular songwriter and artist also had an original song, “Carolina,” featured in the film Where The Crawdads Sing which was heavily promoted in the film’s marketing. While landing an Oscar nomination certainly would have made 2022 all the better for Swift, she seems to be doing fine without it.

Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength) from Avatar: The Way of Water

Avatar: The Way of Water brought on famous pop star The Weeknd to sing the main credit song, “Nothing is Lost (You Give Me Strength),” composed by Swedish House Mafia and the film’s composer Simon Franglen. The song is a big epic pop track that called back to the days of tie-in movie songs playing over the end credits, particularly those of the 1990s like “My Heart Will Go On” from another Cameron film, Titanic. Given the pedigree of the talent involved and being attached to one of the biggest films of the year, it seemed like the song was a lock for Best Original Song.

Fearless Hero from Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

     DreamWorks

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish landed a nomination for Best Animated Film, but the film also made a strong case for Best Original Song with “Fearless Hero.” The song is sung by Puss in Boots himself during the opening of the movie. The song works to establish Puss in Boots’ background, but also his character by showing how he thinks of himself.

He hypes himself up as a legend and one who will over the course of the movie need to be humbled, accepting that he doesn’t need to be the Fearless Hero to be great. The song is catchy and works as both a great character introduction while also laying out the core character flaw the hero will need to overcome.

Top of the World from Lyle Lyle Crocodile

     Sony Pictures

Lyle Lyle Crocodile seemed like a movie destined to earn at least one Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song, given that it paired the songwriting duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who previously wrote the music for La La Land and The Greatest Showman, with pop artist Shawn Mendes.

“Top of the World” seemed to be the big song of the film, as it was featured in the film’s trailer and certainly has the same energy and sound as a track from The Greatest Showman. The catchy tune sadly was not able to make the nominees but for audiences who saw the movie, it is the best track from the family film.

My Mind & Me from Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me

     Apple TV+

Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me was a moving documentary released on AppleTV+ in November that detailed the star’s struggle with fame and her journey detailing her physical and mental health following her diagnosis with Lupus and Bipolar disorder.

The title song for the documentary “My Mind in Me” provides insight into Gomez’s struggles with the soft sound of a piano and a slight echo capturing a sense of loneliness and isolation. It is a powerfully moving song and after making the shortlist felt like it had a real chance at an Oscar nomination to go with the star’s recent Golden Globe nomination for acting.

Nobody Like U from Turning Red

     Walt Disney Studios

Turning Red’s plot heavily revolved around the fictional boy band 4*Town. The movie’s main song “Nobody Like U” not only perfectly captures the style of early 2000s boy bands and stands as not just a great standalone track, but also works within the context of the film to get to the emotional core. What seems like a simple pop song is in fact a complex song focusing on friendship, identity, and compassion. The movie hypes the song up, and the song delivers.

Written by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell, the song seemed like an earlier front-runner for Best Original Song, but it did not make it to the shortlist, possibly because the duo just won the year prior for “No Time to Die” from the James Bond film of the same name. Regardless, “Nobody Like U” stands as a great addition to the rich history of Disney music.

Vegas from Elvis

     Warner Bros. 

Elvis was both a box office hit and a major awards contender, earning eight nominations including Best Picture. Yet one category the musical biopic did not land a nomination for was Best Original Song, despite featuring “Vegas” by Doja Cat, which was a big hit that made it to number 10 on the Billboard Top 100.

Yet unlike the rest of the snubs, “Vegas” was not shocking, as the song was already deemed ineligible due to its heavily sampling of “Hound Dog.” Even without the nomination, “Vegas” was a hit song from a hit movie and will likely be played for years to come.