For our second Rundown article, we examine one of the individual components of a score. After the jump, you’ll find our winner and runner-up predictions for Best Original Song as well as general commentary about the race. Friday, we’ll cover a category where male individuals bolster their leading counterparts.

Best Original Song

Winner Predictions

• Audition (The Fools Who Dream) – La La Land
• Can’t Stop the Feeling – Trolls
• City of Stars – La La Land (WL O) (PP O) (TB O) (TL O)
• The Empty Chair – Jim: The James Foley Story
• How Far I’ll Go – Moana

Runner-Up Predictions

• Audition (The Fools Who Dream) – La La Land (WL O)
• Can’t Stop the Feeling – Trolls (PP R) [New]
• How Far I’ll Go – Moana (TB O) (TL O)

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Wesley Lovell: There are two songs that really have an hope of winning here and both are from the same film. “City of Stars” and “Audition” are both strong possibilities for the win, but “City of Stars” is the core theme of La La Land and should win handily. If something happens to Best Picture frontrunner La La Land, it’s possible that Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda could win for his song from Moana, but Justin Timberlake’s super-catchy “Can’t Stop the Feeling” might be a safer bet for third place.
Peter J. Patrick: Nothing is going to beat “City of Stars” from La La Land, not even “Audition (The Fools Who Dream”), the other nominated song from the Oscar frontrunner. If there is an upset, it will come from another film, most likely Justin Timberlake’s hit song, “Can’t Stop the Feeling” from Trolls.
Tripp Burton: When your most nominated film is an original musical, and it is set to go on a sweep of the Oscars, it is safe to bet that the movie has to win a Best [Original] Song Oscar. The question here is which song wins. “City of Stars” won the Golden Globe and Critics Choice Awards, and it has become the de facto theme for the movie, so it is the safe bet. If it gets upset, though, look for current Golden Boy and EGOT-chaser Lin-Manuel Miranda to accept yet another gold statue, this time for Moana.
Thomas La Tourrette: One of the songs from La La Land seems likely to win this, unless they end up splitting the vote and letting something else sneak in. “Audition” might have more feeling and it does move the plot forward, but it does not seem to have caught on the way “City of Stars” has. The song plays twice in the film and also serves as a recurring motif. It is pretty and heartfelt and will probably go on to win the Oscar. I think its main competition is not from “Audition” but from “How Far I’ll Go” from Disney’s Moana. I could see some in the Academy wanting to honor Broadway’s Lin-Manuel Miranda who had a banner year with last year’s smash Hamilton. They might feel hipper supporting someone that has suddenly become almost a household name. It might also succeed if the two songs from La La Land split the vote, which has happened in the past. Neither Sting’s somber “The Empty Chair” nor Justin Timberlake’s upbeat “Can’t Stop the Feeling” will stand much of a chance of winning. “City of Stars” will add to the haul that La La Land will take home on Oscar night.

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