And The Best Song Oscar Nominees Should Be....

WILL BE NOMINATED:
 
"The Wrestler" from "The Wrestler"
Performer: Bruce Springsteen
Songwriter: Bruce Springsteen

It's a lock: the Academy loves big names -- and they don't come bigger than Bruce. He already won the Golden Globe for the song, he's in the middle of a huge promotional campaign for "Working on a Dream" and he's going to play the Super Bowl. But be wary, Springsteen fans --  a nomination doesn't guarantee a win. While he won for best song for "Streets of Philadelphia" in 1993, he lost in 1996 for the title song from "Dead Man Walking."


 
"Jai Ho" from "Slumdog Millionaire"
Performer: Sukhwinder Singh
Songwriter: A.R. Rahman

Want to escape the curse where songs over the closing credits get dissed for a nomination? Simple -- turn the closing credits into a Bollywood dance number. Relentlessy catchy "Jai Ho" also could benefit from the Academy's willingness to nominate songs not performed in English; in 2005 Jorge Drexler won the Oscar for his song "Al Otro Lado Del Rio" from "The Motorcycle Diaries."


 
"I Want It All" from "High School Musical 3: Senior Year"
Performer: Ashley Tisdale and Lucas Grabeel
Songwriters: Matthew Gerrard, Robbie Nevil

Knowing that each of the nominated songs will be performed during the Oscar ceremony, the Academy inevitably nominates a tune that's a big production number. "I Want It All" is the most theatrical of the 11 songs in contention from "HSM3" -- the most from any film in 2008 -- and Tisdale's character Sharpay even name-checks that she wants to win an Oscar in the lyrics.


 
"I Thought I Lost You" from "Bolt"
Performer: Miley Cyrus and John Travolta
Songwriters: Miley Cyrus, Jeffrey Steele

After the above par box office returns for Cyrus's concert film in 2008, and with the anticipation for her "Hannah Montana" in 2009, look for the Academy to throw a nomination her way to appease the kids. And Travolta -- who has been nominated twice for best actor, but has never won -- is a Hollywood sentimental favorite, and the Academy would love to have him attend the ceremony to perform.


 
"Down to Earth" from "Wall-E"
Performer: Peter Gabriel
Songwriters: Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman

Another subversion of the closing credits, where "Down to Earth" plays over a credit sequence that takes the story of the "Wall-E" gang into the future. It would be film music stalwart Gabriel's first Oscar nomination -- he did the score for "The Last Temptation of Christ" and "Rabbit-Proof Fence," among others --and he and Newman are already up for a Grammy for "Down to Earth" in the best song written for motion picture, television or other visual media category.