Pop CulturePop Culture

The Worst Song to Win Best Original Song at the Oscars

Dave, Neil, and Joanna discuss the history of the Best Original Song winner. Then, they debate which song was the worst to win, and reveal their picks for the worst in the category.

By Dave Gonzales, Joanna Robinson, Neil MillerMarch 9, 2023, 1:11 pm UTC • 1 min

This week, Dave, Neil, and Joanna debate what the worst song to win Best Original Song at the Oscars is. They start by discussing the history of the category and some of their favorite winners (3:49). Then, they lay out the rules of the debate and go through some pretrial dismissals (23:20). Later, they reveal their picks for the worst Best Original Song winner (40:35), before reading some listener submissions and choosing one to add to the final poll (57:38).

Now it’s up to you to decide! What was the worst song to win the Best Original Song Oscar? You can vote for the winner at TheRinger.com, on The Ringer’s Twitter feed, and in the Spotify app, where you’ll find Trial by Content. The winner will be announced next week!

You can send your picks for next week’s topic and a few sentences to support your pick to TrialByContent@gmail.com. You can also submit suggestions for future Trial by Content topics. Is there a great pop culture debate that you’d like us to settle? Send it on over!

Hosts: Dave Gonzales, Joanna Robinson, and Neil Miller
Associate Producer: Carlos Chiriboga
Additional Production Supervision: Arjuna Ramgopal
Theme song and other music credits: Devon Renaldo

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Dave Gonzales

Dave Gonzales is a writer, producer, and podcast host living in Denver, Colorado. He is the coauthor of the New York Times bestseller ‘MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios.’ His other podcasts are ‘Fighting in the War Room’ and ‘Da7e and Neil’s Pop Culture Adventure.’

Joanna Robinson

Joanna Robinson is a cultural critic appearing on several podcasts, including ‘House of R,’ ‘Prestige TV,’ and ‘Trial by Content.’ Formerly a senior writer at Vanity Fair from 2014-21, she is the author of the New York Times bestselling book ‘MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios.’

Neil Miller

Neil Miller has been a podcaster and pop culture blogger since 2006, when he founded the independent website Film School Rejects. He has cohosted popular pods about ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Lost,’ has produced a TV show (‘One Perfect Shot’), and is a tortured lifelong Cleveland sports fan.