We’ve narrowed down the list of competitors from 89 to a nice even 64. It’s time to start voting! But first, here are some quick stats from the seeding round:
- The top seed, to no one’s surprise, is “Over the Rainbow” with 46 votes; followed by “Theme From Shaft” with 42 and “When You Wish Upon a Star” with 40.
- The lowest seeded songs, with 6 votes each, are “Thanks for the Memory,” “It Might as Well Be Spring,” and “Never on Sunday.”
- The first-ever winner of the Academy Award for Best Original Song, “The Continental,” did not make it into the bracket. The earliest winner included is 1935’s “Lullaby of Broadway.”
- The latest award-winner to not be included is “Fight for You” from 2020/2021’s Judas and the Black Messiah.
- Every song from the 1980s and 1990s made it into the bracket, which is probably a reflection of the Avocado’s age demographic, but we do have every decade represented at least once in the tournament.
Finally, before we start voting let’s pay our respects to what is clearly the Avocado’s least favorite Oscar-winning song. “Gigi” came very close to ending the seeding round with zero upvotes–it received a single vote mere hours before I started recording the totals.
And now, on with Round 1!