Catch three Oscar-nominated Best Songs on Netflix this weekend

Pop quiz. Do you remember what won the Oscar for Best Original Song last year? Here’s a hint: Think pink.

You can listen to Billie Eilish singing "What Was I Made For?” the 2024 Oscar winner on Netflix right now. (It’s in Barbie if you didn’t know.) You can also catch the 2023 Best Song "Naatu Naatu,” from RRR. But will you be able to hear this year’s winner on Netflix?

After the nominations were announced today, I think there’s a pretty good chance. Three of the five songs nominated for this year’s award are in movies currently available for streaming on Netflix. Before I get to them, let me just mention two other songs currently on Netflix that were on the Academy’s shortlist and did not get Oscar noms because they happen to be two of my three favorites this year.

If you want some good music, tune into Netflix this weekend

“Harper & Will Go West,” from Josh Greenbaum’s documentary Will & Harper is a delightful little ditty that actually plays a role in the movie itself. It is an upbeat slice of Americana performed on ukelele and sung by co-writer Kristen Wiig. Greenbaum and veteran songwriter Sean Douglas helped Wiig, which is important since she promises to write the perfect theme song during the course of the movie.

A totally different sound, but with a similar knowing sense of humor, comes from Kneecap. Their song “Sick in the Head,” from the movie Kneecap, boasts an infectious hip-hop groove as it helps trace the actual band’s history. The band from Belfast plays themselves in the movie, singing in both English and Irish. Of all the shortlisted songs, it is my favorite.

Those didn’t get nominated, but the following three songs did.

“The Journey,” written by 15-time Oscar nominee Diane Warren and performed by H.E.R., comes during the end credits of The Six Triple Eight, Tyler Perry’s war drama about an army unit in WWII made up entirely of women of color. If you are familiar with Warren’s previous work, this song has most of the hallmarks – a quality melody, but perhaps a little repetitive and melodramatic. Still, H.E.R. sells it well and it builds nicely to its emotional climax.

Selena Gomez sings “Mi Camino” in Emilia Perez, the most-nominated movie this year. It’s a gender-bending, genre-breaking musical that careens in all directions. “Mi Camino” is a mostly quiet sweet piece of dream pop that allows for a breath, despite its own sense of drama.

And then there is the other end of the Emilia Perez spectrum – “El Mal.” It is a seething set piece performed by the film’s Best Actress nominee, Karla Sofia Gascon, Best Supporting Actress nominee, Zoe Saldana, and the song’s co-writer, Camille. It has already claimed the Golden Globe for Best Song, and I make it a pretty strong favorite to grab the Oscar as well.

You can catch Emilia Perez, The Six Triple Eight, Kneecap, and Will & Harper on Netflix prior to the Academy Awards on March 2.

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