Should "Best Original Song" Singers Get Oscars?

[obriensg1]

I was thinking about this earlier. I played back the full version of 'I See the Light' from "Tangled" when I saw it got nominated for an Oscar. It's easily my choice for the win. Definitely not Randy Newman's song from "Toy Story 3". (shudder).

Should the performers of a song win Oscars as well? Only the lyricists and composer do, but where would the song be without those people in the film who bring it to life? Now yes sometimes they win the oscar, if they shared one of the above listed jobs, but even if they didn't, I think they should get one.

Now maybe it could get confusing I guess on who qualifies then. For example, in "Aladdin" you had two excellent versions of "A Whole New World" (A much deserving winner itself) where in the movie itself Brad Kane and Lea Salonga sang it, and in the ending credits Peabo Bryson & Regina Belle sang the version that made me wear out that part of the VHS when I was a kid.

So you tell me. Take "I See The Light" for example. I think Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi deserve Oscars here if the song wins. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3QqD3GVdPw

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by obriensg1

Should the performers of a song win Oscars as well? Only the lyricists and composer do, but where would the song be without those people in the film who bring it to life?

They used to have other people sing them at the ceremony, and they STILL won.
It's the writers and composers....Singers are nameless cattle.

[octagon]

Performers are hardly nameless cattle but original songs are (I believe) judged at least in part by how well they integrate with and contribute to the film and the performers have relatively little to do with that.

[ArmyOfDarknessAW]

Originally Posted by octagon

Performers are hardly nameless cattle but original songs are (I believe) judged at least in part by how well they integrate with and contribute to the film and the performers have relatively little to do with that.

Yeah thats the way i see it also. The Grammy's are the place for the artist to win if the song is truly good.

[obriensg1]

Perhaps. As somebody mentioned above though, sometimes somebody else sings it at the Oscars. I've seen that and I hated it. lol

[octagon]

Heh, it's not American Idol...the songs aren't being judged by that performance...the voting is long over before Oscar night.

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by ArmyOfDarknessAW

Yeah thats the way i see it also. The Grammy's are the place for the artist to win if the song is truly good.

Eminem deserved his Oscar and Grammy for Lose Yourself, always loved that song, even if it was sung by a rapper.

[repete66211]

I know talent and creativity show in an artist's interpretation and presentation of a song but unless the singer created the piece his/her voice is just another instrument.

[ArmyOfDarknessAW]

Originally Posted by Darth Anakin

Eminem deserved his Oscar and Grammy for Lose Yourself, always loved that song, even if it was sung by a rapper.

I am not familiar with rap at all so I don't know the song ( I also never saw 8 Mile) but he wrote the song so yes he deserved it. I was talking about performers doing songs written by others. And for those the song writer should get the Oscar (the way it is) and if the song is good the artist can win a Grammy.

[SpaceDog]

The performers who had a hand in writing the song do win. It's a song writing award, not a song performance award. This is also the reason why only original songs are allowed in the category.

[X400]

Originally Posted by Darth Anakin

Eminem deserved his Oscar and Grammy for Lose Yourself, always loved that song, even if it was sung by a rapper.

he should have gotten one for his acting too

everyone was saying he deserved one prior to nominations and i remember quite a little storm when he didnt even get nominated (accusing the academy of not wanting to support the gangster rap culture)


I believe the performers of the song deserve an oscar sure the words and music are a great part of the impact but the singer if not even more so they at least share an equal amount to the impact of a song

heck look at 'i will always love you' by Dolly Parton; sure Dolly sings it great but if it wasn't for Whitney Houston "The Bodyguard" wouldn't even have been noticed

[SpaceDog]

Originally Posted by X400

he should have gotten one for his acting too

everyone was saying he deserved one prior to nominations and i remember quite a little storm when he didnt even get nominated (accusing the academy of not wanting to support the gangster rap culture)


I believe the performers of the song deserve an oscar sure the words and music are a great part of the impact but the singer if not even more so they at least share an equal amount to the impact of a song

heck look at 'i will always love you' by Dolly Parton; sure Dolly sings it great but if it wasn't for Whitney Houston "The Bodyguard" wouldn't even have been noticed

How do you award someone an Oscar for portraying themselves?

[KubrickFan]

Does the orchestra receive an Oscar for Best Score? Do the camera operators get an Oscar for Best Cinematography? The answer to all of those is "no". A different singer wouldn't have made it an entirely different song, while a different lyricist or composer would have. It's that simple.