Yes, we’re still over three weeks away from the Oscars, but let’s be real, this year’s awards ceremony is setting itself up to be a shitshow, right? With the highly-publicized controversy surrounding the hosting and the seemingly endless attempts by ABC to somehow make the Academy Awards more popular, this year’s Oscars already seems destined to go down as one of the more disappointing. And adding to that is the recent controversy about which musical performances will or won’t be shown during the telecast, including a performance from a legendary rock band that will actually not happen.
Yesterday, we reported that the Academy had backtracked on its original idea of only have two of the Best Original Songs be performed at during the telecast. The lucky songs were originally going to be “Shallow,” from “A Star is Born” (was there any doubt?), and “All the Stars” from “Black Panther” (ABC is praying the Marvel film will bring eyeballs). But now, that’s not the case, with all the songs getting performances, albeit some will be truncated. And it’s the story behind this decision, and the Academy’s desperate behind-the-scenes dealing to get “HOLY SHIT!” moments that continues to amaze.
According to Deadline, those who are pleased that the Oscars will recognize all the Best Song nominees have Lady Gaga to thank, or her reps, at least. It’s reported that Gaga was displeased with the news that her song “Shallow” and the Kendrick Lamar contribution to “Black Panther” would be the only ones performed, leading the music star to believe there was perceived favoritism. And because the Academy is bending over backward this year to make sure the biggest stars in the world show up on February 24, Gaga won her appeal and all the songs are going to be performed, even if they’re shortened and performed by other folks.
But there’s also news that in the Academy’s desperation to have some sort of magical opening to the awards ceremony (you know, without a host and all), Queen was courted to play a song. That’s right, the legendary rock band, who was featured in the worldwide blockbuster “Bohemian Rhapsody” was reportedly asked to play at the Oscars (via Variety). For whatever reason, the band and the Academy couldn’t reach an agreement. However, it does illuminate the hilarious desperation felt by the Academy.
“Bohemian Rhapsody” is nominated for several big awards, but the film has been the subject of many, many controversies lately, surrounding the director, Bryan Singer. Having Queen perform would only magnify those allegations, especially considering members of the band have publicly supported the disgraced filmmaker. So, perhaps the Oscars dodged a bullet.
It may not have a superstar host, and will feature odd musical performances, but this year’s Oscars ceremony is shaping up to be an awards show that will be fun to watch, much in the same way NASCAR is fun to watch, as you anticipate a car wreck, eventually. Hey, who knows? Maybe the Avengers will show up and save the whole damn thing?