The 2024 Oscars or the 96th Academy Awards nominees have been announced earlier today, Jan. 23, 2024. Capping off the Awards circuit for the 2023 season on Mar. 10, 2024, the 2024 Oscars will be held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.
Two of the five nominees in the prestigious music ballot went to "Barbie," specifically to Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt, FINNEAS, and Billie Eilish.
Diane Warren gets her seventh consecutive and fifteenth total nomination for the category while Jon Batiste and Scott George earn their first nomination for best songwriting. (via The Academy)
2024 Oscars Best Original Song Nominees Explored
Scott George, who was nominated for his song "Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)," shared with Tulsa World his reaction when the song was shortlisted for the category.
"George: My reaction to making the Oscars shortlist is one of disbelief. The movie crew and our tribal liaison, Chad Renfro, mentioned that they thought the song had a chance to make it as an original song, but we never really bought in to that notion. So, (I was) surprised to say the least, and of course excited. And if all we did was make the shortlist, I'm more than satisfied with the work we did," he revealed.
Meanwhile, Diane Warren's "The Fire Inside" from "Flamin' Hot" also earned a nod. At this point, many seemed to regard Warren's consecutive nomination at the category as a default one. However, based on history, Warren has yet to win a competitive Oscar for the said category and we don't think a song that wasn't campaigned loudly during the awards season wouldn't bat a chance on the front runners.
Jon Batiste's "It Never Went Away" might be a newly-heard entry for the category but considering the artist's genius, it just might be the category's black horse. Batiste has been loved by Academy voters, considering he won 2020's Best Score for "Soul." We will have to see if the musical savant will earn his first-ever Best Original Song Oscar this year.
Barbie's "I'm Just Ken" and "What Was I Made For?" are perhaps the biggest front runners for the said category.
Ronson, who produced "Ken" earned an Oscar in 2018 for "Shallow," while Eilish and FINNEAS" also won an Oscar in 2021 for "No Time To Die."
Eilish and FINNEAS have been reaping awards left and right at the entire Awards Circuit, including the Golden Globes and the Hollywood Music in Media Awards. However, "Ken" shouldn't be snubbed as it won the hearts of critics at the 2024 Critics Choice Awards.
Who do you think will win the Oscar for Best Original Song?
READ MORE: 2024 Oscars Best Original Song, Score, Sound Nominees Announced
