A Look Ahead to Best Original Song.

I’ve uploaded the four songs that I own. Freewebtown was being a bitch halfway through so I uploaded the two high Mb ones onto sendspace, which I just trust as much because their files expire after about a month. So if you want “That’s How You Know” and “Falling Slowly”, download them now.

And even if you don’t love movies that much, download these songs anyway, ‘cos you know… free music.

Here are the nominees:
· “Falling Slowly” from Once (Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova)
· “Happy Woking Song” from Enchanted (Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz)
· “Raise It Up” from August Rush (Jamal Joseph, Charles Mack and Tevin Thomas)
· “So Close” from Enchanted (Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz)
· “That’s How You Know” from Enchanted (Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz)

The three nominations for Enchanted really help me in writing about this category because I have the music and can remember most of the scenes from this movie. I haven’t actually seen August Rush, but there’s clips of the song on YouTube, and for this category it ain’t all that important to watch the whole movie, is it?

01. "That’s How You Know” from Enchanted
With three nominations for one category, Enchanted is at risk of being last year’s Dreamgirls, which was nominated for three songs but ultimately lost out to “I need to wake up” from An Inconvenient Truth. Nonetheless, it means that the lovely Amy Adams gets to performance come Oscar time, so all is not lost. That’s How You Know is a relatively simple Disney song about, well, how you know you’re in love. All three nominated songs work better in the movie and Amy Adams singing it to Patrick Dempsey with an array of onlookers is one of the best and funniest sequences of the movie. Amy Adams sings so well and the backing voices are so sweet that it’s impossible not to be enchanted by this song. A

02. "Falling Slowly" from Once
There was a lot of hooha over whether or not this song was eligible due to it being released earlier than the film and queries as to whether it was written especially for once. This sort of pedantry irritates me, it’s what denied “A Love that Will Never Grow Old”, one of the finest love songs of recent years, of bagging a nomination for Brokeback Mountain. But luckily, “Falling Slowly” did get nominated. Once was one of my top 5s of 2007. It’s about an Irish busker and Czech girl who make music together. Simple as. Falling Slowly is a beautiful song, sung so wonderfully in a duet by the film’s two leads, their voices completing each other’s perfectly. Some are cynical about whether the two were ever in love, but the chemistry between them when making music is unmistakable. An instrumental, vocal and lyrical delight. A.

03. “So Close” from Enchanted
One of the slower songs from the Enchanted soundtrack, this ballad is 100% schmaltz, with slushy piano, slow percussion, melodramatic delivery of the lyrics and swelling strings. But its shameless romantic factor is lovely, and makes all viewers, not just the pre-teen crowd, wish for a special someone to be “so close” with. B+.

04. “Raise It Up” from August Rush
Performed by Jamia Simone Nash and Impact Repertory Theatre, Raise it Up is a catchy gospel song with some great singing by the young Nash. Apart from that, it’s quite forgettable. B.

05. “Happy Working Song” from Enchanted
A fairly cute song with terrific singing by Amy Adams to reach the really high notes, but Happy Working Song definitely works much better in the film in that Mary Poppins-esque with all the animals running around (it sent the kids in the audience I was in into fits of giggles). When listening to it sat in front of the computer doing your homework, it doesn’t particularly instil any kind of work ethic into you. Kudos for Amy Adam’s dedication to the role, though, for singing it all with a straight face. She was snubbed, damnit! B-.

Who will win: That’s How You Know (Enchanted)
Who should win: That’s How You Know (Enchanted)/Falling Slowly (Once)
Who deserved to get nominated: The Hill from Once (the sole solo from Marketa Inglova, her voice is lyrical and haunting and the song is painfully beautiful) & Le Festin from Ratatouille (I don’t understand French but whatever she’s singing about, I’ll have some of that). Spider-Pig wasn’t eligible, otherwise I’d say that too.