Oscars show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today that U2 will perform the original song Ordinary Love from Justin Chadwick’s biographical drama Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom starring Idris Elba at the 86th Academy Awards ceremony on March 2, 2014. The performance will be the first time the band will perform the song live. Ordinary Love is one of the four nominated songs in the Best Original Song category. It was previously announced that Pharrell Williams will also be performing his nominated song Happy from Despicable Me 2 and Idina Menzel will perform Let It Go from Frozen. The soundtrack for Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, which includes the nominated song is available on Decca Records.
Tag: Academy Awards
Idina Menzel to Perform ‘Let It Go’ from ‘Frozen’ on the Oscars
Oscars show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today that Idina Menzel will, for the first time, perform the Academy Award-nominated song Let it Go from Disney’s animated feature Frozen at the 86th Academy Awards ceremony on March 2, 2014. The song written by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez is one of the four songs up for an Oscar in the Best Original Song category. The two songwriters are nominated for the first time. The performance will also mark Menzel’s first appearance at the Oscars. The Tony Award-winning singer, songwriter and actress has previously appeared in such films as Enchanted, Ask the Dust and Rent. The soundtrack for Frozen featuring the nominated song is available on Walt Disney Records.
Pharrell Williams to Perform ‘Despicable Me 2’ Song on the Oscars
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has announced today that Pharrell Williams will be performing his original song Happy from the animated hit film Despicable Me 2 at this year’s Oscars show, which will air on March 2. Williams is nominated for the first time in the Best Original Song category. The other nominated songs include Ordinary Love from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, Let It Go from Frozen and The Moon Song from Her. Despicable Me 2 is also nominated in the Best Animated Feature category. The soundtrack for the film, which also includes more songs by Pharrell and the score by Heitor Pereira is available on Back Lot Music.
‘Alone Yet Not Alone’ Open Letter Response to Academy
On Thursday, composer Bruce Broughton sent out the following email to Academy spokesperson Teni Melidonian and CEO Dawn Hudson (and cc to Academy president Cheryl Boone Issacs) regarding the disqualification of his nominated song from Alone Yet Not Alone, which has now been published as an open letter:
Dear Teni,
I just looked at the Academy release of the rescinding of the nomination and came upon this line in the penultimate paragraph: “Members were asked to watch the clips and then vote in the order of their preference for not more than five nominees in the category.” This isn’t at all accurate.
Academy’s Statement Regarding ‘Alone Yet Not Alone’ Song Decision
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has issued a statement regarding the decision to rescind the nomination for the song Alone Yet Not Alone from the movie of the same title:
The Board of Governors’ decision to rescind the Original Song nomination for “Alone Yet Not Alone,” music by Bruce Broughton, was made thoughtfully and after careful consideration. The Academy takes very seriously anything that undermines the integrity of the Oscars® voting process. The Board regretfully concluded that Mr. Broughton’s actions did precisely that.
Academy Rescinds Original Song Nomination for ‘Alone Yet Not Alone’
On Tuesday night, the Academy’s Board of Governors voted to rescind the Original Song nomination for Alone Yet Not Alone, featuring music by Bruce Broughton and lyric by Dennis Spiegel. The decision was prompted by the discovery that Broughton, a former Governor and current Music Branch executive committee member, had emailed members of the branch to make them aware of his submission during the nominations voting period. An additional nominee in the Original Song category will not be named. Check out our previous article for the full list of nominees in the category.
Academy Awards Nominations Announced
This morning, the nominations for the 86th Academy Awards were announced. Here are the music-related nominations:
Best Original Score:
- The Book Thief – John Williams
- Gravity – Steven Price
- Her – William Butler and Owen Pallett
- Philomena – Alexandre Desplat
- Saving Mr. Banks – Thomas Newman
William Ross Returns as Oscar Music Director
Academy Awards producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today that William Ross will return as music director for this year’s 86th Oscar ceremony. He previously served as music director on the 79th, 83rd and 85th Academy Awards. Ross whose film scoring credits include Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Ladder 49, A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas and The Tale of Despereaux has also worked on the opening ceremonies of several Super Bowls, as well as the opening and/or closing ceremonies of five Olympic Games. The composer/arranger has earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Music Direction for his work on the 85th Academy Awards show.
Academy Announces 75 Original Songs in Oscar Race
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has announced the short list of 75 songs that are in contention for nominations in the Original Song category for the 86th Academy Awards. During the nominations process, all voting members of the Music Branch will receive a Reminder List of works submitted in the category and a DVD copy of the song clips. Members will be asked to watch the clips and then vote in the order of their preference for not more than five achievements in the category. The nominations will be announced on January 16, 2014.
Here are songs in alphabetical order of the films:
“Amen” from “All Is Lost”
“Alone Yet Not Alone” from “Alone Yet Not Alone”
“Doby” from “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues”
Academy Announces 114 Original Scores in Oscar Race
The Academy of Motion Pictures Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the eligible movies in contention for nominations in the Original Score category for the 86th Academy Awards. Notable, but expected omissions include American Hustle (Danny Elfman), August: Osage County (Gustavo Santaolalla), Frozen (Christophe Beck) and Nebraska (Mark Orton). The 114 eligible scores along with the composer are listed below in alphabetical order by film title:
“Admission,” Stephen Trask, composer
“Ain’t Them Bodies Saints,” Daniel Hart, composer
“All Is Lost,” Alex Ebert, composer
“Alone Yet Not Alone,” William Ross, composer
“The Armstrong Lie,” David Kahne, composer
“Arthur Newman,” Nick Urata, composer
“At Any Price,” Dickon Hinchliffe, composer