Could this year be only the fourth time in the 94-year-old Academy Awards that a song not sung in English wins an Oscar?
Previous foreign-language winners in the Best Original Song category are 1960’s ‘Never on Sunday’, for the eponymous film, which was sung in Greek; 2004’s ‘Al Otro Lado Del Rio’, sung in Spanish and the title track of the film The Motorcycle Diaries; and 2008’s ‘Jai Ho’, from the eight-Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, sung in Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi.
This year’s nominees include ‘Io Sì’, sung in Italian for the film The Life Ahead’; and ‘Husavik’, which is sung partially in English and partially in Icelandic, from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.
However, they face stiff competition from the English language canon, which all deal with racial and social injustice – themes high on the world agenda these days – and with strong musical leanings towards the sounds of the 60s and 70s, which remain popular genres.
Will English come out on top again or will we all be humming along to Husavik’s vocals of Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams (whose singing is actually done by Swedish popstrel Molly Sandén)? We’ll all just have to wait until 25 April and those three little words: “The envelope, please.”
