2.  “Come So Far (Got So Far to Go)” from “Hairspray” :  This is the song used over the closing credits of the 2007 version of "Hairspray."  It is in the same upbeat period style as the rest of the songs in the movie and was sung by the film's stars Zac Efron, Nikki Blonski and Queen Latifah.





3.  “Falling Slowly” from “Once” :  I have already posted about this song a few months back here:  http://3xhcch.multiply.com/video/item/57.  Another song from this movie is also eligible, “If You Want Me”.

4.  “Guaranteed” from “Into the Wild” :  "Into the Wild" is a movie directed by Sean Penn.  A lot of the music in that movie was written by the great Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam (whom I had the chance to be in the same breathing room with backstage at their Manila concert about 12 years or so back, but that's another story...).  I feel that "Guaranteed" is the best of the three eligible songs from this movie, the others being "Rise" and "Society."  The acoustic guitar work on this song is amazing.  There are no official videos but there are several cover versions available of these three songs on youtube here, here and here.

5.  “So Close” from “Enchanted” :  There are three songs from the Disney movie "Enchanted".  "So Close" is the love song by Jon McLaughlin.  The other two are more typical Disney grand production number type songs:  “That’s How You Know” and “Happy Working Song”.  The latter two may be great to watch onstage if they are nominated.

Other popular contenders are:

“Despedida” from “Love in the Time of Cholera” :  This slow Spanish torch song is gaining popularity because of its Golden Globe nomination, and maybe because of its high-profile singer Shakira.

“Grace Is Gone” from “Grace Is Gone” is written by Clint Eastwood and performed by Jamie Cullum for the movie starring John Cusack.  It is another acoustic number, which seems to be the vogue among indie productions.  Very good also!  Listen to it here.

“A Hero Comes Home” from “Beowulf” :  This haunting song, played over the closing of "Beowulf" is sung by Broadway star Idina Menzel.

“Way Back into Love” from “Music and Lyrics” :  One of only two eligible songs that made it into local pop radio.  This song was sung by stars Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore.  Another song from the same film, “PoP! Goes My Heart”, also made the list.  The other radio hit is “Before It’s Too Late (Sam and Mikaela’s Theme)” from “Transformers” by the GooGoo Dolls.  The chances of these songs getting into the final list are quite slim though.  Quite unlike the case in 1984, when all 5 Best Song Nominees were actually Number 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 ("Footloose", "Let's Hear It For the Boy", "Against All Odds", "Ghostbusters", and the winner "I Just Called To Say I Love You").

The other eligible songs are as follows:

“Do You Feel Me” from “American Gangster”
“At the Edge of the World” from “Arctic Tale”
“Someday” from “August Rush”
“This Time” from “August Rush”
“Raise It Up” from “August Rush”
“Break” from “August Rush”
“Nothing’s There” from “Badland”
“The Devil’s Lonely Fire” from “Badland”
“The Stars of Orion” from “Berkeley”
“To Be Surprised” from “Dan in Real Life”
“My Hands Are Shaking” from “Dan in Real Life”
“I’ll Be OK” from “Dan in Real Life”
“December Boys” from “December Boys”
“Atkozott Egy Elet” from “56 Drops of Blood”
“O, Atyam!” from “56 Drops of Blood”
“Eleg!” from “56 Drops of Blood”
“A Dream” from “Freedom Writers”
“Lyra” from “The Golden Compass”
“Good Luck Chuck” from “Good Luck Chuck”
“Shut Me Out” from “Good Luck Chuck”
“I Was Zapped by the Lucky Super Rainbow” from “Good Luck Chuck”
“Lullabye for Wyatt” from “Grace Is Gone”
“The Tale of the Horny Frog” from “The Heartbreak Kid”
“China Doll” from “Honeydripper”
“It Will Stay With Us” from “The Hottest State”
“Never See You” from “The Hottest State”
“First Amendment Blues” from “Larry Flynt: The Right To Be Left Alone”
“Hello (I Love You)” from “The Last Mimzy”
“Baby Don’t You Cry” from “Waitress”
“Beautiful Ride” from “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story”
“Walk Hard” from “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story”
“Let’s Duet” from “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story”
“Back Where You Belong” from “The Water Horse”
“Ordinary People” from “Music Within”
“Pretty Much Amazing” from “Nancy Drew”
“Le Festin” from “Ratatouille”
“Land of Quiet Poems” from “Resurrecting the Champ”
“Love Will Still Be There” from “September Dawn”
“Royal Pain” from “Shrek the Third”
“Rule the World” from “Stardust”
“Huck’s Tune” from “Lucky You”
“Little Wonders” from “Meet the Robinsons”
“Another Believer” from “Meet the Robinsons”

The much awaited announcement of Oscar nominees (as much an event as the big night) will be on January 22, 2008.