Watch: Who Are the Queer Oscar Song Winners?

With the Oscars coming up on March 27, there are a slew of categories that still seem very much up for grabs. A longer than usual Oscar season means more time for opinions to change, more time for dark horses to pick up steam, and more time for nominees to work that campaign circuit like their life depends on it.

One race that's particularly interesting this year is Best Original song, which finds music royalty competing against a legendary 13-time Oscar loser and an entertainment juggernaut who only needs the Oscar to complete his EGOT.

On the music royalty end of things, we have a slugfest between Van Morrison for "Down to Joy" from "Belfast," Beyoncé for "Be Alive" from "King Richard," and Billie Eilish and brother Finneas for "No Time to Die" from the latest Bond film. Competing with those pop legends are Diane Warren for the Reba McEntire-sung "Somehow You Do" from "Four Good Days" and Lin-Manuel Miranda for "Dos Oruguitas" from "Encanto."

Common wisdom has Eilish out front, especially since she's already won a Grammy and Golden Globe for the song. But Beyoncé's popularity could easily propel her to a win, despite "Be Alive" not being a great song; and Van Morrison is a beloved legend whose "Down to Joy" sounds like a classic and is from the most well-liked film of the bunch.

Then there's Diane Warren, who despite a string of worthy nominations in the past (for songs like "Because You Loved Me," "How Do I Live," "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," and "There You'll Be") has never been able to prevail. It doesn't help matters that her most recent handful of nominations have come from little seen films, and this year's schlocky "Somehow You Do" is unlikely to finally bring her the gold. And a formidable contender this year is Lin-Manuel Miranda, whose Oscar win would put him in elite EGOT status. Working against him is that his song is entirely in Spanish, but both Miranda and "Encanto" are popular enough that it might not matter.

Looking back, the Academy has awarded some of the greatest and most enduring songs ever written, from "Over the Rainbow" and "Moon River" to "Lose Yourself" and "Shallow." In the 94 years of Oscar, original songs written by queer artists have been nominated 43 times. And while there's still plenty of time for this year's race to evolve, let's look back at 10 times a queer artist has taken home the gold for Best Original Song:

Paul Jabara, 'Last Dance' from 'Thank God It's Friday'

Not many people know that this Donna Summer disco hit was actually written for the screen, but the fact is that the disastrous "Thank God It's Friday" was forgotten long ago. Also mostly forgotten now is songwriter Paul Jabara, who died of complications from AIDS in 1992, and who also wrote disco-era smash hits like "It's Raining Men" and "No More Tears (Enough is Enough)."

Peter Allen, 'Arthur's Theme' from 'Arthur'

Written for the Dudley Moore vehicle, "Arthur," "Arthur's Theme" was co-written by four music heavyweights: Christopher Cross, Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager, and Peter Allen. Listening to "Arthur's Theme" now, it doesn't quite seem like the kind of song that would require four people to write, but it remains a worthy recipient of an Oscar. Unfortunately, like Jabara, AIDS took Allen from us way too soon.

Stephen Sondheim, 'Sooner or Later' from 'Dick Tracy'

Like Miranda's quest this year, this sultry song performed by Madonna in "Dick Tracy" is what finally gave this Broadway legend his EGOT. Interestingly, the "Dick Tracy" soundtrack was produced by Madonna herself, so the finished product of "Sooner or Later" has her fingerprints all over it.

Howard Ashman, 'Under the Sea' from 'The Little Mermaid'

Out of a total of seven nominations, Ashman won two Oscars, his first in 1989 for "Under the Sea" and his second in 1991 for the title song from "Beauty and the Beast." Sadly, Ashman died from complications due to AIDS and never got to pick up that second trophy himself. And although he died before "Beauty and the Beast" was released, he was able to catch an early screening of the film. In fact, the film is dedicated to Ashman, with the following message appearing after the credits: "To our friend Howard, who gave a mermaid her voice and a beast his soul, we will be forever grateful."

Elton John, 'Can You Feel the Love Tonight' from 'The Lion King'

Like Ashman, Elton John also won two Oscars, winning his most recent one last year for "I'm Gonna Love Me Again" from "Rocketman." Interestingly, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" sat at number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart for eight weeks. Not bad for a song from an animated film.

Melissa Etheridge, 'I Need to Wake Up' from 'An Inconvenient Truth'

When Etheridge won the Oscar in 2006 for this Al Gore-penned climate change documentary, she became the first openly lesbian winner for Best Song. Now, 15 years later, she remains only the second to be nominated in this category. The first? Lesley Gore in 1980 for "Out Here on My Own" from "Fame."

Sam Smith, 'Writing's on the Wall' from 'Spectre'

Sam Smith got into some muddy water after their win here, incorrectly stating that they were the first openly gay male to win an Oscar, which was untrue. And Bond songs have fared well with Oscar, with seven of them picking up Best Original Song nominations. But so far only two have won, Adele for "Skyfall" in 2013 and Smith in 2016. Might Billie Eilish make it three?

Frederick Loewe, 'Gigi' from 'Gigi'

While the notion of being "openly gay" was a very different thing in 1958 when Broadway composer Frederick Loewe won his Oscar, it nonetheless remains accurate to say that he was the first gay man to win the award for Best Original Song. This was a good time in Loewe's career: the year before, he won a Tony Award for "My Fair Lady."

Benj Pasek, 'City of Stars' from 'La La Land'

While Pasek still needs an Emmy in order to EGOT, he's 75 percent of the way there, having won Grammy and Tony awards for "Dear Evan Hansen." And at 36 years old, he's still got plenty of time to get that Emmy.