Lin-Manuel Miranda‘s “Dos Oruguitas” from Encanto won best song written and/or recorded for a film at the 2020 GMS Awards, presented by the Guild of Music Supervisors virtually on Sunday (March 20).
So, does this mean momentum in the Oscar race for best original song is shifting Miranda’s way in the closing days of Oscar balloting? (The final-round voting period for the Oscars runs from March 17-22.) It may be, but you can’t draw that conclusion from this outcome. Miranda’s chief rival for the Oscar, Billie Eilish and Finneas’ “No Time to Die” from the film of the same name, wasn’t nominated here. That James Bond theme still seems to be the song to beat for the Oscar.
While the Oscar for best original score is presented only to the songwriter, the GMS award in this equivalent category is presented to the songwriter, the artist (in this case, Sebastián Yatra) and the music supervisor (in this case, Tom MacDougall).
Winning a GMS Award is no guarantee of Oscar success. “Hear My Voice” from The Trial of the Chicago 7 won the GMS Award last year. It was nominated for an Oscar, but lost to “Fight for You” from Judas and the Black Messiah.
Diane Warren, whose “Somehow You Do” from Four Good Days is also Oscar-nominated, received the Icon Award at the GMS Awards. Aloe Blacc performed her song during the fast-paced 90-minute virtual presentation. Reba McEntire sings the song on the film soundtrack.
Mitchell Leib, former president of music and soundtracks for Disney’s live action motion picture production division, received the Legacy Award, honoring excellence within the craft of music supervision.
Having some fun with the virtual format, Warren and Leib presented each other their awards. Warren said to Leib: “You’ve touched something like 400 films during your career, worked with some of the…