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This system has the advantage in that it helps songs from low-profile movies that are used really well in their film. But the major flaw of this category is that, unlike every other category, disliking a song won't just not help its chances of being nominated, it can actively hurt them. If somebody really hated Hugo, the most they could have done to keep it from being nominated for Best Picture is not vote for it. If Best Picture worked like Best Original Song, however, people would be given the chance to cancel out the vote of somebody who loved Hugo.

Let's make up an example here looking at three hypothetical voters. Voter 1 is a rock musician who hates musical theater, Voter 2 writes children's songs and doesn't care for rock, and Voter 3 is a musical theater composer who is terrified of lizards. Voter 1 gives Think You Can Wait a 10, Voter 3 gives it a 9, but Voter 2 thinks it doesn't fit the standards of what an Oscar nominee should be, and gives it a 6. Final score: 8.33, and thus eliminated. Voter 2 gives Rango's Theme a 10, Voter 1 gives it a 9, but Voter 3, terrified of lizards as he is, gives it a 6. Final score: 8.33, and thus eliminated. Voter 3 gives Star Spangled Man a 10, Voter 2 gives it a 9, but Voter 1 thinks it's too old fashioned and boring, and gives it a 6. You get the point. It is possible for a majority of voters to love or really like a song, but to have a minority actively sabotage its chances. It's like congress, but this matters.

What is the solution to this problem? Is changing to the more traditional voting system - you know, where each voter picks their five favorite songs and those are the ones that get nominated - really that difficult? Perhaps some great songs would get lost in the shuffle, but that's true in every category. What about a bake-off similar to Visual Effects and Documentary, wherein a portion of the branch picks nine or ten songs from the 35 plus eligible songs for a short list, and the field as a whole picks from there? Would that be too difficult for everyone?

There is no solution that is going to make everyone happy. The songs from Submarine that I gushed over so effusively weren't even listed among the t37 songs eligible for the award, which made me fairly grumpy. But if we are going to be fair and objective we have to admit that the current voting process is seriously flawed. Unless we want to eliminate Best Original Song altogether, and I pray that they don't decide to do that, the process needs to be fixed, so that we can keep on giving Oscars to songs like “Lose Yourself” and “I Need to Wake Up” and “Falling Slowly.” Because if the Oscar is about awarding the best of every aspect of filmmaking, they can't leave out the songs that we're singing on our way out of the theater.

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