The Academy Award nominations were announced yesterday morning (January 14), and the Best Original Song category was especially interesting this time around. While the group of nominees is typically comprised of songwriters and producers that few have heard of with only the occasional famous face, this year's list is a who’s-who of the pop charts. Lady Gaga, Sam Smith, and The Weeknd are all up for the prize, and they all have a good chance of actually winning come next month.

While the chosen nominees are all certainly worthy of the honor, what were the other options? There were actually several dozen songs that were eligible for Best Original Song, including works by people you might not expect. Childish Gambino, Lily Allen, R. Kelly, Jennifer Hudson, and even Al Pacino all submitted tracks for consideration, but they didn't get very far.

There were a handful of high-profile songs that some surmised might have had a chance, though they didn't make the final cut. Here are 7 alternatives that likely came close to being in the ballot. 

Ellie Goulding — “Love Me Like You Do”

There were several songs from the Fifty Shades Of Grey soundtrack that were eligible, and two of them ended up being big hits. While not actually written by Ellie Goulding, the song was up for the Golden Globe in this category, which lead many to guess that it would repeat the feat for the Oscars. It looks like Max Martin, Tove Lo, and the other writers of the global hit will have to wait for another year.

Wiz Khalifa — “See You Again (ft. Charlie Puth)”

The Furious 7 soundtrack cut was an immediate hit, topping charts around the world, including in the States, where its 12 weeks at No. 1 tied it for the longest running hip-hop chart leader of all time. Khalifa, Puth, and company were up for the Golden Globe earlier this month, but couldn't beat Sam Smith’s James Bond theme. It's possible that Oscar voters couldn't take the rap/pop hit seriously.

Jessie J — “Flashlight”

The British pop starlet lent her powerful vocals to this Pitch Perfect 2 song, and it actually received some media attention at the time of it's release. Being a music-focused movie itself, Best Original Song would be the category where Pitch Perfect 2 has the best chance of being nominated. Oh well. Maybe it'll happen with the third installment.

Sia — “Salted Wound”

It was a big year for Fifty Shades Of Grey, with both the soundtrack and the film itself proving to be incredibly popular. There were at least three tracks created specifically for the movie, which made them all eligible for nomination. Sadly, Sia’s “Salted Wound” was left out of all major nominations, losing out to The Weeknd this time around.

Eminem — “Kings Never Die" (ft. Gwen Stefani)

Em and Gwen (that's a fun duo name) teamed up to write and record this powerful track from the Jake Gylenhaal boxing movie Southpaw. Because of the power of the combining of these two stars, “Kings Never Die” made it onto the charts, but that's about it. Keep in mind that Eminem has already won this award before, so try not to feel too bad for him.

Leon Bridges — “So Long”

2015 was pretty good to newcomer Leon Bridges, as his debut album made it into the Top 10 and he collected a few Grammy nominations. He contributed the track “So Long” to the Will Smith film Concussion, and both his song and the movie were applauded by critics (as is the case with pretty much everything Bridges does). Even though he didn't make the cut this time around, the soulful songwriter's just getting going, so he still has plenty of time to get an Oscar nod.

Rihanna — “As Real As You And Me”

Can you imagine RiRi, the Oscar winner? The pop star took over soundtrack duties for the animated film Home, which included both recording several songs of her own, as well as recruiting fellow stars like Jennifer Lopez and Charli XCX. All of their cuts were technically eligible, but Rihanna’s “As Real As You And Me” was the standout.