Imagine walking on stage at the Academy Awards, shaking your head in disbelief and clutching at your chest as you try not to let the tears come out just yet. (You're going to want them just when you're wrapping up your speech.)
You've just won the Academy Award's Best Original Song accolade.
But many of the greatest movie songs of all time have been snubbed when it came to Oscar night. They failed to grab the prize, but they've made it onto our playlist.
"The Power of Love" - Back To The Future
Back To The Future gave the double-denim clad, skateboarding teenage boys of the '80s their own theme tune. The catchy all-American rock tune sent Huey Lewis and the News to the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts, but it failed to pick up the gold at the 1985 Academy Awards.
The opening riff is recognizable in seconds and is the only song to listen to when hanging onto the back of trucks and skateboarding your way to school when you're in a rush.
"Lose Yourself" - 8 Mile
Eminem's 2002 movie 8 Mile was a masterpiece success story. It was critically praised for its realness and had an original song like no other. "Lose Yourself" is the embodiment of the movie.
Lyrically, it takes the listeners through the struggles, the nerves and the hardships of a young man trying to make it in the hip-hop industry. The song moves from a sad piano opening to a thick and heavy bass line that lifts the emotive lyrics. The Academy Awards gave Eminem the Oscar - which is probably a good thing, seeing how "success is the only...option."
"(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" - Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
The classic pairing of a melodic piano and a tight electric guitar are the basis for this crooning love ballad - what other genre of music would be suitable for Robin Hood? Proving that even criminals have hearts, too, "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" is really a romanticized excuse for Hood's actions.
Nonetheless, the song's husky vocals and romantic lyrics make it a go-to ballad a decade after its release. It may have lost in the 1991 Academy Awards, but it lost to Beauty and the Beast,and it's really hard to beat the animated story of a French girl and her blind love for a beast.
"I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" - Armageddon
Aerosmith's 1998 ballad has become the classic high school prom slow dance. But before it awkwardly brought together teenage couples in streamer-filled gyms, it hit the big screen in Armageddon.
As Liv Tyler and Ben Affleck's characters came together for a kiss - one so moving even her dad can't help but watch on - the audience couldn't control the devastating happiness of the couple.
On a note, which is a lot less cute, the track is also played while Affleck tracks animal crackers along Tyler's stomach - with gazelle impressions included. The scenes may have furrowed a few brows, but Aerosmith's heart-warming screams of love and devotion will be the soundtrack to teenage romances for years to come.
"Falling Slowly" - Once
In 2007, an acoustic number grabbed the prize - a beautifully harmonious duet by the two protagonists of the love story Once.
It's a nice change from the in-your-face love ballads of the '90s. "Falling Slowly" is understated in its lyrics and repetitive riff - but it's a stunning example of how, sometimes, less is more.
"You've Got A Friend In Me" - Toy Story
If Andy and Woody's relationship didn't play a prevalent role in your childhood, then I'm sorry. But this song is the embodiment of friendship.
It sings about love between friends, as a young boy swings around his stuffed cowboy toy. The song's loss may have been one of the worst decisions made by the Academy. It didn't just lose; it lost to Pocahontas' "Colors Of The Wind."
"(I've Had) The Time Of My Life" - Dirty Dancing
Baby breaks free from the constraints of her parents and lets the hot dance convince her into dancing onstage in front of the entire, snobby holiday resort. There's some overly sexy hip-to-hip grinding. But most importantly there's thelift -the lift Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone tried to imitate and girls have been trying to reenact since 1987.
The fast-paced song had undertones of swing - it's fun, it's flirty and it deserved to win. And it did.
"Skyfall" - Skyfall
James Bond: the diamond of British cinema. Adele: the powerhouse of British vocals. Whoever decided to put the two together should give him or herself a pat on the back.
Adele's strong vocals backed with an operatic-like, slow melody makes the track a winner in its own right. Thankfully, the Academy Awards thought so, too.
"Eye Of The Tiger"- Rocky III
It's the workout song of choice and the song to motivate the masses. It's also the loser of the 1982 Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Winner or not, "Eye Of The Tiger" continues to pervade pop culture. After more than 20 years, the sharp beats are still making people's eyes narrow as their competitiveness ekes to the surface.
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