Best Original Song at the Academy Awards has always been full of classic songs that are hard to imagine these movies without. The Wizard of Oz wouldn't be the same without "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid wouldn't have one of its most iconic moments without "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head," and who could imagine Shaft without "Theme from Shaft"? In recent years especially, this award has been given to some iconic artists like Bille Eilish, who won last year for her No Time to Die theme, Elton John, Lady Gaga, Adele, and Randy Newman. This year's nominees are an eclectic bunch, from annual mainstays like Diane Warren, huge stars like Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Mitski, and David Byrne, and a song that can't help but make you dance. Let's take a look at this year's nominees and rank them from worst to best.

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5. “Applause” from Tell It Like a Woman — Music and Lyric by Diane Warren

This is the fourteenth time Diane Warren has been nominated in this category, and she’s been nominated every year since 2017. Warren’s songs always center around some generic, optimistic platitude that could’ve been inserted into almost any film (just look at the titles of previous nominees like “Stand Up for Something” or “I’ll Fight”). But in addition to this, these songs are nominated in films that no one has seen. Last year, it was the Glenn Close/Mila Kunis film Four Good Days, and in recent years, The Life AheadSophia Loren’s final acting role—and the absurd drama Breakthrough in 2019. The latest of these bland songs in a seemingly nonexistent film is “Applause,” in the truly atrocious anthology film, Tell It Like a Woman. Performed by Sofia Carson, listening to “Applause,” you know what you’re hearing is technically a song, but I’ll be damned if you can remember a single thing about it once it’s done. “Applause” is a song that evaporates the second it hits your eardrum—it’s essentially the opposite of an earworm, in that there’s no way to actually keep it in your head. I am listening to the song right now as I write this, and I might as well be listening to white noise. Please, Diane Warren, quit doing this to me every year, I beg of you.

4. “This Is a Life” from Everything Everywhere All at Once — Music by Ryan Lott, David Byrne, and Mitski; Lyric by Ryan Lott and David Byrne

Like Son Lux’s excellent score for Everything Everywhere All at Once, “This Is a Life” quietly and gracefully builds, until it sounds as though the whole song might cave in on itself—which makes sense, considering the movie itself. Both Mitski and David Byrne are measured in their verses, taking their time with lyrics that sound definitively like something Byrne would create. Considering that Mitski and Byrne have previously given us songs that explode into excitement, it’s almost surprising how soft their vocals are here, and while the song eventually does burst into wildness, the majority of the song stays in the almost mournful tone that it does.

3. “Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick — Music and Lyric by Lady Gaga and BloodPop

Lady Gaga’s third nomination in this category (winning in 2019 for A Star Is Born’s “Shallow”), “Hold My Hand” might have the highest expectations behind it. Lady Gaga has to live up to the original Top Gun, which won this category for “Take My Breath Away,” and came off a soundtrack that went platinum nine times in the U.S. alone. And let’s not forget “Danger Zone.” Lady Gaga and BloodPop, however, wisely decide to latch onto the 80s bombast with “Hold My Hand,” a grandiose song that sounds like it should be played at stadiums while fighter jets fly overhead. BloodPop have worked with Lady Gaga on her last few albums, “Chromatica” and “Joanne,” so he knows how to boost the power of Gaga’s voice. And honestly, it’s hard to imagine anyone else being able to pull this song off. It’s cheesy and over-the-top, but thanks to Lady Gaga, it works. It’s no “Danger Zone,” but few songs can reach those heights.

2. “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — Music by Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler and Ludwig Goransson; Lyric by Tems and Ryan Coogler

Not only is this Rihanna’s first single in over two years, but “Lift Me Up” is a beautiful homage to the late Chadwick Boseman at the end of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever—a final moment during this film of mourning to truly let the tears out over the beloved hero. “Lift Me Up” is beautifully simple and elegant, putting Rihanna at the forefront, in a song that feels both melancholy, yet appreciative, fitting that it comes at a moment in the film when we see that the Black Panther’s legacy won’t go away any time soon. Rihanna and Tems vocals go perfectly together, soaring as one, while Rihanna ends on a gorgeous crescendo that won’t leave a dry eye in the house. A perfect final tribute to Boseman in Wakanda Forever, and a welcome return for Rihanna.

1. “Naatu Naatu” from RRR — Music by M.M. Keeravaani; Lyric by Chandrabose

It’s a damn shame that RRR is only nominated in the Original Song category, given that S. S. Rajamouli’s film is one of the most joyous and unexpected hits of 2022. If we want to celebrate the best of film in a given year, there are few films as ambitious and wonderfully unrestrained as RRR. BUT that being said, no moment of RRR compacts the greatness of the film quite as well as the “Naatu Naatu” dance sequence, an absolutely incredible performance that if it doesn’t put a smile on your face, sorry, you’ve died. But even if you haven’t seen RRR (if you haven’t, fix yourself immediately), “Naatu Naatu” on its own is just an unbelievably fun burst of energy and jubilation, a toe-tapping triumph that feels like a whole party in just under four minutes. “Naatu Naatu” has already won the majority of its nominations at other shows—and rightfully so—and with RRR woefully underrepresented at the Academy Awards, it would be great to see the film win its sole nomination. It also doesn’t hurt that it’s by far the best song nominated in this category.