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"Lose Yourself" And Have "The Time of Your Life" Watching These 13 Oscar-Winning "Best Original Song" Videos
How's your Oscar fever doing? Do you need to take some ibuprofen and lie down with a cool compress? If, instead, you've got some time to spend waste taking a musical stroll through Academy Awards history, we've got just the salve: A selection of songs that have won the coveted "Best Original Song" Oscar.
Let's start at the beginning, in 1934, with the first-ever time the award was given. It went to "The Continental" from The Gay Divorcee, starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
1940:
1949: Betty Garrett and Red Skelton do a "gender reversed" rendition of "Baby It's Could Outside," done in a prior scene by Esther Williams and Ricardo Montalban in Neptune's Daughter.
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Huckleberry friends, it's "Moon River," from 1961
Yep, the theme from Shaft won the Oscar in 1971
Time for some misty watercolor memories of "The Way We Were" in 1973
Irene Cara's "Fame" will live forever as the 1980 "Best Original Song" Oscar-winner
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Stevie Wonder just called to say he won the Oscar in 1984
"The Time of My Life" from Dirty Dancing, 1987 (and by the way, the 80s ones are some serious jams, look 'em up, they're pretty damn awesome)
Bruce Springsteen on "The Streets of Philadelphia" 1993
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You knew it was coming..."My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic, 1997
Eminen's "Lose Yourself," 2002
"It's Hard Out There for a Pimp" 2005
This year's two nominees are:
- "Man or Muppet" - The Muppets • Music and Lyrics: Bret McKenzie
- "Real in Rio" - Rio • Music: Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown • Lyrics: Siedah Garrett
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Now, if only the Muppets were hosting...
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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