For our third Rundown article, we look at a category with an uneven history with myriad rule changes that have impacted the quantity of nominees for individual films. After the jump, you’ll find our winner and runner-up predictions for Best Original Song as well as general commentary about the race. Thursday, we’ll cover a category where being in English is almost disqualifying.

Best Original Song

Winner Predictions

• All the Stars – Black Panther
• I’ll Fight – RBG
• The Place Where Lost Things Go – Mary Poppins Returns
• Shallow – A Star Is Born (WL O) (PP O) (TB O) (TL O)
• When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings – The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

Runner-Up Predictions

• All the Stars – Black Panther (TB R) [New]
• I’ll Fight – RBG (WL O) (TL O)
• When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings – The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (PP R) [New]

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Wesley Lovell: I don’t see any other potential outcome than “Shallow” and would be shocked if it lost.
Peter J. Patrick: This is the one category where A Star Is Born seems to be a slam dunk. If there’s a surprise here, it might turn out to be the unexpected charmer, “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings.”
Tripp Burton: Betting on Lady Gaga to take this is probably the safest bet of the evening. If anything can usurp it, Kendrick Lamar could, but that is a very long shot.
Thomas La Tourrette: So far it feels that “Shallow” from A Star Is Born has all the momentum to win the Oscar for best song. It has the most precursor wins and it also is getting a lot of playtime on the radio. I really cannot imagine any other song beating it this year. The song from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs seems too odd and trite. “I’ll Fight” from RBG has the mighty Diane Warren writing, but she looks likely to go home empty-handed for the tenth time on Oscar night. Likewise, Marc Shaiman will go home for the sixth and seventh times without an Oscar for his sentimental song from Mary Poppins Returns. “All the Stars” from Black Panther could benefit from people checking the boxes for that movie, but it does not feel like the type of song that will win. If something were to upset “Shallow,” it would be either “The Place Where the Lost Things Go” or more likely “I’ll Fight,” but really neither stands much of a chance.

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