Film Soundtracks Hit The Right Notes on Spotify Ahead of This Year’s Oscars®

22 April, Dubai, UAE: The annual Academy Awards®, or the Oscars®, returns on Sunday 25th April to celebrate some of the most critically-acclaimed films released over the past year. 

Ahead of the biggest night in the film calendar, new data from Spotify has shown that listeners around the world and in the UAE are re-immersing themselves in the amazing soundtracks and songs from this year’s nominees, as well as some of their favourite film soundtracks from history. 

The Spotify Hollywood’s Big Night playlist has increased in streams by 234% globally in March compared to the previous month as excitement builds before the big night.

In 2021’s Best Picture category, composer Emile Mosseri’s soundtrack to Minari is proving to be a big hit with listeners. In March, the soundtrack saw a 201% increase in listens globally from the month before. Also with six nominations at this year’s Oscars® is Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland. The soundtrack has seen a strong uplift in streams month on month too, jumping 271% globally since February.

Amongst the nominees for Best Original Song is H.E.R’s Fight For You, the original song for the film Judas and the Black Messiah. Spotify listeners cannot get enough of this hit with the song, coming in at number one in the UAE and seeing a 120% increase in listens globally in March in comparison to February. Fans of Will Ferrell and Netflix’s Eurovision Song Contest are continuing to stream power ballad Húsavík, with the song ranking as the second most-streamed Film Soundtrack nominated for this year’s awards, based on Spotify streams globally.

This year’s most popular film score nominated for Best Original Score, based on streams between February and March, is Pixar’s Soul by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. The original scores that follow in second and third are Emile Mosseri’s Minari and James Newton Howard’s News Of The World.

Not only are Spotify users streaming the latest scores and soundtracks, but they are also continuing to listen to famous movie soundtracks throughout history ahead of the big night in the film calendar. The most streamed film soundtrack albums globally between February and March 2021 include Hans Zimmer’s Interstellar: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, Disney’s Frozen and previous Academy Awards® winner La La Land.  

The top 5 most streamed Film Soundtracks nominated for the 93rd Academy Awards® globally on Spotify between February and March 2021 are:

1. Judas and the Black Messiah (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)  [Judas and the Black Messiah]
2. My Marianne, Will Ferrell – Husavik (My Hometown) [Eurovision Song Contest]
3. Laura Pausini – Io sì (Seen) [From The Life Ahead (La vita davanti a sé)] [The Life Ahead]
4. Celeste – Hear My Voice [The Trial of The Chicago 7]
5. Leslie Odom Jr. – Speak Now [One Night in Miami]

The top 5 most streamed Film Scores nominated for the 93rd Academy Awards® globally on Spotify between February and March 2021 are:

1. Various Artists – Soul
2. Emile Mosseri – Minari (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
3. James Newton Howard – News Of The World (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
4. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – Mank (Original Musical Score)
5. Terence Blanchard – Da 5 Bloods (Original Motion Picture Score)

The top 5 Best Picture titles based on Spotify streams globally between February and March 2021 are:

1. Ludovico Einaudi, Seven Days Walking [The Father]
2. Emile Mosseri, Minari (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) [Minari]
3. Various Artists, Promising Young Woman [Promising Young Woman]
4. Various Artists, Nomadland [Nomadland]
5. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Mank (Original Musical Score) [Mank]

The top 5 Best Picture Albums based on Spotify streams in the UAE between February and March 2021 are: 

1. Ludovico Einaudi, Seven Days Walking [The Father]
2. Emile Mosseri, Minari (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) [Minari]
3. Various Artists, Promising Young Woman [Promising Young Woman]
4. Various Artists, Nomadland [Nomadland]
5. Judas and the Black Messiah (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)  [Judas and the Black Messiah]

The top 5 Best Original Songs streamed in the UAE between February and March 2021 are: 

1. H.E.R., Judas and the Black Messiah – Fight For You – From the Original Motion Picture “Judas and the Black Messiah” [Judas and the Black Messiah]
2. My Marianne, Will Ferrell – Husavik (My Hometown) [Eurovision Song Contest]
3. Leslie Odom Jr. – Speak Now [One Night in Miami]
4. Laura Pausini – Io sì (Seen) [From The Life Ahead (La vita davanti a sé)] [The Life Ahead]
5. Celeste – Hear My Voice [The Trial of The Chicago 7]

The top 5 most streamed Film Scores and Soundtracks of all time globally on Spotify are:

1. Interstellar: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
2. La La Land
3. Gladiator – Music From The Motion Picture
4. Inception
5. Frozen