The top Oscars front-runners and dark horses of 2018 so far

(L-R) LADY GAGA as Ally and BRADLEY COOPER as Jack in the drama “A STAR IS BORN,” from Warner Bros. Pictures, in association with Live Nation Productions and Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures, a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo: Clay Enos/Warner Bros.

Best Original Song

Best Original Song has had a very colorful past. There are the projects that are almost always guaranteed a win, like any song from a Disney animated feature, but there have also been some major surprises, like Three 6 Mafia’s “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” from Hustle & Flow. But this year, there’s a clear front-runner right out of the gate.

Lady Gaga proved long ago that she was more than just your average pop star, and with her starring role in A Star Is Born, she has already certified her status as a pop culture icon. She already has six Grammys and an Oscar nomination under her belt for the song “Til It Happens to You” from the documentary The Hunting Ground, but her work for A Star Is Born might be the one to grab the gold.

It seems like they’re going full force ahead with the track “Shallow”, which was released on Sept. 27. The song was featured in the early teaser trailers for the film, and Gaga’s “HAAAA AH AH AH AH AAAH!” was heard around the world, giving us all goosebumps. A Star Is Born could pull a La La Land and end up with more than one nomination, giving it a great chance at bringing home a prize, but we’ll have to wait until the official nominees are announced before getting our hopes up.

Also working in the film’s favor is the track record of the earlier iterations of the classic tale. Two of the three Star Is Born films landed nominations for Best Original Song, with the most recent version — 1976’s interpretation starring Barbara Streisand — taking home the trophy.

Dark Horse: Disney’s Mary Poppins Returns might cause some problems for Gaga’s Oscar campaign. The film hits theatres in December, and has all new songs written by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, most famous for the musical Hairspray. Not only do they have the experienced (and decorated) songwriters, but they also have stars like Meryl Streep and Lin-Manuel Miranda performing the songs in the film. Miranda lost out on the Oscar — and completing his EGOT — when Disney’s Moana lost Best Original Song to La La Land, but with a star-studded team this time around, Disney might be taking home another win.