The good news is that “Golden,” the KPop Demon Hunters smash nominated for the best original song Oscar, will be performed at the Academy Awards telecast in March. The bad news is that it’s one of only two nominated songs that will be performed — and at least one of the nominees is not happy about it.
Deadline has printed a letter that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences sent to nominees on Thursday, informing them that only “Golden” and “I Lied to You,” from Sinners, would be performed on the telecast due to “limited time,” the addition of a new category, and a “desire to create a fast-paced, entertaining and cohesive show.”
That means the other three nominated songs — “Dear Me,” “Train Dreams” and “Sweet Dreams of Joy” — won’t be performed on the show.
Hit songwriter Diane Warren, who received her 17th Oscar nomination for “Dear Me,” isn’t happy about the decision.
“It is unfair to me and my fellow nominees,” she told Deadline. “Here is how I look at it. Put all the songs on. It is all of us or none of us, and that is what it should be.”
Calling it a “diss,” Warren added that because the announcement went out while voting is going on, “It is sending the message that these songs don’t matter, including mine.”
Warren hopes the producers will change their minds, as they did in 2019 when they tried to do the exact same thing. That year, Warren and Lady Gaga refused to perform unless all of the nominated songs were featured; in the end, the producers caved.
“That is honestly what should happen with the other performers [this year],” she told Deadline.
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