OSCARS SKIPPING BEST ORIGINAL SONG PERFS

In light of the Los Angeles wildfires, the Oscars will pivot away from staging live performances of this year’s Best Original Song nominees in order to spotlight the stories of the songwriters and focus attention on those affected by the fires.

Academy CEO Bill Kramer and president Janet Yang sent a letter to Academy members today (1/22), in which they said, “This year the Best Original Song category presentation will move away from live performances and will be focused on the songwriters. We will celebrate their artistry through personal reflections from the teams who bring these songs to life. All of this, and more, will uncover the stories and inspiration behind this year’s nominees.”

The nominations will be announced on Thursday (1/23) at 8:30am [ET], with Bowen Yang of Saturday Night Live and actress Rachel Sennott of The Idol handling the reveal. The 14 songs on the Best Original Song shortlist are:

“Winter Coat” from Blitz ; “Compress/Repress” from Challengers “; Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late ; “El Mal” from Emilia Pérez “Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez ; “Sick in the Head” from Kneecap ;“Beyond” from Moana 2; “Tell Me It’s You” from Mufasa: The Lion King ; “Piece by Piece” from Piece by Piece ; “Like a Bird” from Sing Sing ; “The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight ; “Out of Oklahoma” from Twisters ; “Kiss the Sky” from The Wild Robot and “Harper and Will Go West” from Will & Harper.

Every Oscar party host HITS knows is thankful that they won’t have to endure our sing-alongs.