"Jurassic Park could've used a 90s adult contemporary ballad in the end credits
Like yeah it's a great movie with a great ending but why aren't Regina Belle and Peabo Bryson cooing about how life finds a way"

—Tumblr user goshdangronpa

The Big Damn Bronze Age Disney-Style End-Credits Power Ballad on a film soundtrack that is blatantly gunning for the Best Original Song Oscar and as many Grammys as it can snag.^note Best Song Written for Visual Media is the most obvious, but it can also be nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and/or best song in the genre it falls under.

Tropers who grew up in the 1990s know what we're talking about, right? It's the kind of song which plays over the end credits (usually) of an animated (usually) Disney (usually) movie (usually) from the '90s (usually). They each share a distinctive style and, as per the title, once you hear it you just know it's going to get nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song, and if it doesn't, somebody's getting fired.

They generally have at least four of the following distinctive traits:

• Starts out soothing and mellow. Chances are high the first thing to come out of the singer(s) mouth is "Mmmmmmmm..." as if they're taking a pie out of the oven and like the smell.
• Instead of describing events that happen directly in the movie, it usually covers the more sweeping themes used in it such as The Power of Love, The Power of Friendship, and so on. May be a Silly Love Song. Most Award Bait Songs have absolutely nothing to do with the plot (love songs in movies with no romance, for example), and are rarely referenced in the film itself.
• Extremely feel-good and/or touching; may be a Tear Jerker.
• Lots of "sparkly" synth.
• Towards the middle, it gets more and more triumphant and builds to a big, epic finish.
• Is penned by a (usually) past-their-prime pop/rock star, especially if the film isn't a musical. If the song is a hit, it may prompt a comeback.
• If it is a musical it may appear in the film, but it's occasionally a Cut Song, as in the Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame examples.
• Context of a Falling-in-Love Montage (bonus points if it's also a ballroom dance).
• Truck Driver's Gear Change.
• A soaring electric guitar solo.
• Especially since the Turn of the Millennium (as opening credit sequences are almost unheard of except in James Bond films), it's not necessarily considered the film's theme song.
• A Video Full of Film Clips.

The distinguishing trademark, however, is when the song has a reprise, frequently a duet, done over the end credits. Bonus points if it's sung by Barbra Streisand, Céline Dion (or someone who sounds like her), Whitney Houston, Peabo Bryson, or Bryan Adams.

Sounds like the kind of song popularized by nineties Disney films, yes? The funny thing is that the film that probably helped to make this sort of thing popular during this particular part of movie history would be "Somewhere Out There" from Don Bluth's An American Tail, although Don Bluth's team had also had "Flying Dreams" in the earlier The Secret of NIMH. And even before that, songs unrelated to the story, usually of the love song variety, often sung by popular singers, had been a staple of closing credits for Asian films — particularly anime — for decades. Even if romance isn't central to the film.

Award Bait Songs are also found in many live-action films, notably "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic (1997). Many, many films from the late-70's through late-90's had a song like this, leading some critics to call this period the last really amazing time for movie songs. This has been exchanged for "hip" pop songs from the popular artists at the time, and/or more commonly the movie soundtrack.

Movie Bonus Songs in film adaptations of stage musicals often fall under this trope too, since the songs adapted from the play aren't eligible for Best Original Song, and this is the filmmakers' attempt at letting the film receive some accolade for its music. Whatever the song's reason for being, the "Award-Baiting" part isn't the important part, nor is the "End Credits" part. The important part is that the song is strongly associated with the narrative work, serves as a fitting capstone, and is in the style described above.

One tactic when trying for an award bait song is to take an existing, usually famous, song and record a Softer and Slower Cover.

It should also be noted that, while the song may be blatant award bait, that doesn't mean they still can't be really good regardless.

For other kinds of popular and/or Award-winning movie songs, see Breakaway Pop Hit and "I Want" Song. For other ballads done in a grandiose style, see Power Ballad. Compare The Power of Rock.

Examples

• Films — Animation
• Films — Live-Action
• Video Games