Oscars 2021

Oscars 2021: The 10 best love songs to win an Academy Award

In the lead up to the Oscars, Martin Chilton picks the greatest love songs to win an Academy Award

Sunday 25 April 2021 12:26 BST

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The statuette for the Best Original Song Oscar, for a song specifically written for a movie, was first handed out in 1934. In the eight decades since, there have been some magnificent winners, including “White Christmas” and “When You Wish Upon a Star”.

Some fine songs, like the inaugural victor “The Continental”, from The Gay Divorcee, have faded from the limelight, possibly hastened into semi-obscurity in this case by Lionel Blair’s dire cover version. Others, including “Que Sera, Sera” or “The Windmills of Your Mind”, are lasting classics of popular music.

One constant in the category has been a rich vein of wonderful love songs. So, ahead of Valentine’s Day, here is our ranking of the 10 best love songs to win an Oscar. Some classics – such as “Days of Wine and Roses”, “The Way We Were” or “You Must Love Me” – just miss out on the list.