2017 Oscar Best Song Winner and Ceremony Details
The 2017 Oscar Best Song award went to "City of Stars" from the film La La Land at the 89th Academy Awards. The ceremony took place on February 26, 2017, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. Justin Paul and Benj Pasek wrote the song, which was performed by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone during the broadcast. The film received a total of 14 nominations that year, the most since 1950. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences oversees the nominations and voting process. For broader context on entertainment industry economics, see this Forbes overview of media and entertainment trends.
La La Land dominated the 2017 Oscars, winning six awards including Best Director for Damien Chazelle. The Best Song category was one of the final awards announced during the night. The song's win marked the fourth time a song from a musical film took the prize in the 2010s decade. The Dolby Theatre has hosted the Oscars ceremony continuously since 2002. The event drew an estimated global television audience of roughly 34 million viewers in the United States alone. More background on the history of the Oscars can be found on the official Academy Awards site.
Full List of 2017 Oscar Best Song Nominees
The five nominees for the 2017 Oscar Best Song were "City of Stars" from La La Land, "Audition (The Fools Who Dream)" also from La La Land, "Can't Stop the Feeling!" from Trolls, "The Empty Chair" from Jim: The James Foley Story, and "How Far I'll Go" from Moana. The nominees were selected by the Academy's music branch members from eligible films released in 2016. The Trolls song was performed by Justin Timberlake, who also served as executive music producer on the film. The Jim: The James Foley Story documentary was directed by Brian Oakes. The Moana song was written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Opetaia Foa'i, and Mark Mancina.
Each nominee had to meet specific Academy eligibility rules for the Best Original Song category. The song must have been written specifically for the motion picture and not previously released or used in other media. The Academy's music branch executive committee reviews submissions and compiles the official ballot. Voting members of the branch then cast their votes to determine the final five nominees. The winner is chosen by a subsequent vote of all eligible Academy members. The Recording Academy, which runs the Grammy Awards, has separate eligibility criteria for its song categories.
Impact and Legacy of the 2017 Oscar Best Song Winner
"City of Stars" became one of the most recognized songs from the 2016 film cycle and a signature piece for Ryan Gosling. The song's success contributed to the overall box office and streaming performance of La La Land, which grossed over $446 million worldwide. The film's soundtrack album charted highly on the Billboard 200 and remained on the list for multiple weeks. The song's composers, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, had previously won Tony Awards for the musical Dear Evan Hansen. The Oscar win added to the growing list of accolades for the La La Land creative team.
The 2017 ceremony is also remembered for the famous envelope mix-up involving the Best Picture award, which briefly overshadowed other categories including Best Song. The incident led to the Academy implementing new procedural safeguards for future events. Despite the confusion, "City of Stars" remains a staple of modern musical film soundtracks and is frequently covered in live performances. The song's themes of ambition and partnership resonated with audiences globally. Its legacy continues to be discussed in film music analysis and retrospectives on recent Oscar history.