Forty-nine songs from eligible feature-length motion pictures are contending for nominations in the Original Song category for the 81st Academy Awards®, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today.
The original songs, along with the motion picture in which each song is featured, are listed below in alphabetical order by song title:
“Another Way to Die” from “Quantum of Solace”
“Barking at the Moon” from “Bolt”
“The Boys Are Back” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”
“Broken and Bent” from “Role Models”
“By the Boab Tree” from “Australia”
“The Call” from “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian”
“Can I Have This Dance” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”
“Chase the Morning” from “Repo! The Genetic Opera”
“Chromaggia” from “Repo! The Genetic Opera”
“The Code of Life” from “My Dream”
“Code of Silence” from “Save Me”
“Count on Me” from “The Women”
“Di Notte” from “The Lodger”
“Djoyigbe” from “Pray the Devil Back to Hell”
“Down to Earth” from “WALL-E”
“Draculas Lament” from “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”
“Drive” from “Fuel”
“Forever” from “They Killed Sister Dorothy”
“High School Musical” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”
“Gran Torino” from “Gran Torino”
“I Thought I Lost You” from “Bolt”
“I Want It All” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”
“In Rodanthe” from “Nights in Rodanthe”
“It Aint Right” from “Dark Streets”
“Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire”
“Just Getting Started” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”
“Just Wanna Be with You” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”
“Little Person” from “Synecdoche, New York”
“The Little Things” from “Wanted”
“A Night to Remember” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”
“Nothing but the Truth” from “Nothing but the Truth”
“Now or Never” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”
“O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire”
“Once in a Lifetime” from “Cadillac Records”
“Right Here Right Now” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”
“Right to Dream” from “Tennesee”
“Rock Me Sexy Jesus” from “Hamlet 2”
“Scream” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”
“The Story” from “My Blueberry Nights”
“Sweet Ballad” from “Yes Man”
“Too Much Juice” from “Dark Streets”
“The Traveling Song” from “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa”
“Trouble the Water” from “Trouble the Water”
“Up to Our Nex” from “Rachel Getting Married”
“Walk Away” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”
“Waterline” from “Pride and Glory”
“The Wrestler” from “The Wrestler”
“Yes Man” from “Yes Man”
“Zydrate Anatomy” from “Repo! The Genetic Opera”
On Tuesday, January 6, the Academy will screen clips featuring each song, in random order, for voting members of the Music Branch in Los Angeles. Following the screenings, members will vote to determine which three, four or five songs become nominees in the category.
A DVD copy of the song clips will be made available to those branch members who are unable to attend the screening and who request it for home viewing. A mail-in ballot will be provided.
A maximum of two songs may be nominated from any film. If more than two songs from a film are in contention, the two songs with the most votes will be the nominees.
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.
The 81st Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Thursday, January 22, 2009, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2008 will be presented on Sunday, February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.