Oscar officials have been very secretive about the 91st annual Academy Awards ceremony slated for February 24 on ABC. But we now know five of the performers who will take the stage to sing Best Original Song nominees. According to their official Twitter account, expect the following production numbers:
– Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga singing “Shallow” from “A Star Is Born”
– Jennifer Hudson singing “I’ll Fight” from “RBG”
– David Rawlings and Gillian Welch singing “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings” from “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”
– Special mystery guest (replacing Emily Blunt) singing “The Place Where Lost Things Go” from “Mary Poppins Returns”
There has been no confirmation or information about “All the Stars” from “Black Panther,” but the original film version was performed by Kendrick Lamar and SZA.
The 2019 ceremony has been one of the most scrutinized in memory over the past few months. First-time producer Donna Gigliotti and co-producer/director Glenn Weiss hired comedian Kevin Hart to host, but he bailed out after past social media anti-LGBTQ ravings returned to haunt him. Earlier this week, it was revealed on our sister website Deadline by reps of the other nominated songs that only two tunes (“Shallow,” “All the Stars”) would be performed on the show, but backlash has caused Oscar brass to reconsider and invite all five.
Other eyebrow-raising decisions over the past few months have included the decision to present some below-the-line categories during commercial breaks (still happening) and adding a popular film category (not happening after an outcry). It’s also been rumored in the same Deadline story that a longstanding tradition of having the four acting winners from the previous year returning might be eliminated. If true, that means Frances McDormand, Gary Oldman, Allison Janney and Sam Rockwell, who’s nominated this year for “Vice,” would not present the acting categories on February 24.
Discuss all of these ceremony details and more in our notorious Oscar forums thread. As presenters are announced for the program, they will be added to the first post in that thread.
PREDICT the Oscar winners now; change them until February 24
Be sure to check out how our experts rank this year’s Oscar contenders. Then take a look at the most up-to-date combined odds before you make your own 2019 Oscar predictions. Don’t be afraid to jump in now since you can keep changing your predictions until just before winners are announced on February 24.
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