‘Shallow’ From ‘A Star Is Born’ Could Be Shut Out For Best Song Oscar By These Songs

Ever since the debut of A Star is Born, and even before the film hit theaters, fans were already humming the movie’s iconic tune, “Shallow,” before seeing it performed in its entirety within the context of the film.

The tune, penned by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, and Andrew Wyatt has the potential to take home an Academy Award for Best Original Song from a Motion Picture.

But despite the fact that many viewers loved the song — and that it has a deep, longing quality similar to Titanic‘s memorable “My Heart Will Go On” — the best-loved tunes are not always the ones which win a golden statuette.

Indie Wire noted that “Shallow” is the first tune since 2014’s “Let It Go,” from Disney’s Frozen, that is a clear and obvious Oscar contender.

Although the song, sung by Gaga and Bradley Cooper in the film, is such a beloved hit, it could very well be knocked out of contention by another surprise song. Indie Wire compiled a list of songs that could potentially dethrone “Shallow” from having a shot at Oscar glory.

Again, this is a subjective list of songs which could contend for the top spot. The official Oscar nominations do not come out until Tuesday, January 22.

One of the songs which Indie Wire feels could run against “Shallow” in contention for the big prize is from the film Deadpool 2, titled “Ashes,” a power ballad performed by Celine Dion.

Written by Petey Martin, Jordan Smith, and Tedd T, the song has an advantage because it has Dion’s soaring vocals and a memorable chorus. Its only disadvantage is that Deadpool 2 didn’t take itself seriously. Will Oscar voters take the song seriously?

A true contender for the title against “Shallow” — and the song that likely has the best chance to win against it — is “All of the Stars” from the film Black Panther, written by Kendrick Lamar, SZA, Sounwave, and Al Shux. “All of the Stars” was performed by Lamar and SZA.

Lamar not only contributed several songs which he specifically wrote for the album, but he also crafted this anthem to appeal to a younger demographic. The Weeknd’s “Pray for Me,” from the same film, could also be mentioned for the title of Best Song, per the Indie Wire list.

The site also notes that the tunes “Suspirium” from Suspiria (Written and performed by Thom Yorke); “Hearts Beat Loud” from Hearts Beat Loud (Written by Keegan DeWitt, performed by Kiersey Clemons and Nick Offerman); and “The Flower of the Universe” from A Wrinkle in Time (Written by Sade Adu, Andrew Hale, and Ben Travers, performed by Sade) could be nominated as well.

There are also some dark horse picks, reported Indie Wire, which include “Revelation” from Boy Erased (Troye Sivan and Jónsi), “Gravity” from Free Solo (Tim McGraw and Lori McKenna), “The Big Unknown” from Widows (Sade), “For You” from Fifty Shades Freed (Liam Payne and Rita Ora), and “Finally Free” from Smallfoot (Niall Horan).

The 91st Academy Awards telecast will air live on ABC — from the Dolby Theatre — on February 24.