Since most of the “big” categories are based more on press and lobbying than quality, I look forward to the categories of best song and score. In particular, I love the live performances in the song category. I loved it when Queen Latifah and Catherine Zeta Jones sang last year and Robin William’s version of “Blame Canada” a few years ago was priceless.

This year had some great music. The song’s were all quality, even if I wasn’t totally enamoured by them all.

We’ve all heard the Counting Crow’s song. It is a good song, but I was never that impressed by it (I’m not a Counting Crow’s fan, so I’m sure that has something to do with it).

I was a little disappointed that the original artists didn’t sing all the songs. That being said, Beyonce did a very nice job on “Vois Sur Ton Chemin.” It was a pleasure to listen to. The choir was exceptional. I might go so far as to say that her additional vocals may have made the Oscar version better than the original. She was good on “Learn to be Lonely,” but it seemed less interesting to hear.

I was very disappointed with Antonio Banderas and Santana doing, “Al Otro Lado Del Rio.” Their version just didn’t have the smooth, melodiousness of the original. Fortunately, Jorge Drexler sang a bit when he picked up the Oscar (and it sounded awesome).

I missed the performance from “Polar Express,” but I wasn’t totally impressed by that song, compared to the other ones.

I have to say, that that Acadamy made an excellent choice. Al Otro Lado Del Rio is a great song and I can listen to it even without having seen the movie. Same with Vois Sur Ton Chemin. Both are now in my iTunes library. Hopefully next year we will hear stuff that is just as good.