When they sit down on January 15th to determine the Best Song nominees for this year's Oscars, voting members of the Academy's Music Branch will have plenty of tunes to choose from -- 59, to be exact.

While a number of the contenders were written by film-music vets -- including Alan Silvestri, Alan Menken, and Diane Warren -- this year's field also boasts submissions by big pop names (John Legend, Sheryl Crow, John Mayer), rock superstars (Eddie Vedder, Roger Waters), and critically beloved songwriters (Marshall Crenshaw, Mike Viola, Dan Bern).

According to Variety, August Rush leads the crowd with four contenders, followed by Dan in Real Life, 56 Drops of Blood, Enchanted, Good Luck Chuck, Into the Wild, and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story with three apiece.

On January 15th, the Academy will randomly screen clips featuring each song for voters, who will then have the unenviable task of narrowing the group of 59 down to three, four, or five nominees.

Source: Variety