The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences released shortlists for several Oscar categories today, with Jon Batiste, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Olivia Rodrigo and the late Robbie Robertson among the music notables all in the running for an Oscar nomination.
For many Oscar categories aside from Best Picture, Best Director, and the acting fields, special Academy committees review all submitted films and narrow the options down to a shortlist for each category, with votes from the larger branch memberships then determining the five nominees. The 2023 Oscar nominations are scheduled to be announced on Jan. 23, 2024, with the ceremony taking place on March 10.
Jon Batiste was Oscar-shortlisted in three categories for his documentary, 'American Symphony.'
For the Best Original Song category, the shortlist includes no less than three songs from Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster Barbie, including Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night Away,” Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” and the Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt-penned “I’m Just Ken” (which just earned a Christmas remix earlier this week). Lenny Kravitz’s “Road to Freedom” from Rustin is also in the running, as is Olivia Rodrigo’s “Can’t Catch Me Now” from The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. “Am I Dreaming,” the ASAP Rocky, Metro Boomin’ and Roisee track from Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse made the cut, as did indie darling Sharon Van Etten, whose “Quiet Eyes” was featured in the film Past Lives. Meanwhile, The Color Purple earned two slots on the shortlist: the Halle Bailey and Phylicia Pearl Mpasi-performed “Keep It Movin’,” and Fantasia’s “Superpower (I).”
Most unexpectedly, director Wes Anderson could also theoretically pick up a songwriting nomination for "Dear Alien (Who Art in Heaven)" from his film Asteroid City (co-written with Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker).
Lenny Kravitz's 'Road to Freedom' from the film 'Rustin' was shortlisted for an Oscar.
In Best Original Score, the Band frontman Robertson remains favored to score a posthumous Oscar nomination for his score to Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. Mica Levy, who initially performed in indie band Micachu and the Shapes before beginning their career as an acclaimed film composer, also makes the list for The Zone of Interest.
Batiste, 2022’s surprise Album of the Year winner at the Grammys, remains eligible for Oscars in three different categories this year, with his American Symphony shortlisted for Best Documentary Feature, while his score and new song from the film, ”It Never Went Away,” are also shortlisted in their respective categories.
The Band's Robbie Robertson is a favorite to score a posthumous nomination for his score to 'Killers of the Flower Moon.'
And in the Animated Short category, included among the 15 hopefuls is War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko, a decades-after-the-fact animated companion to John & Yoko and the Platic Ono Band’s 1971 song “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” assembled by director Sean Mullins with help from Peter Jackson and Sean Ono Lennon.
Check out the full Song and Score shortlists below.
Original Song
“It Never Went Away” from American Symphony
“Dear Alien (Who Art In Heaven)” from Asteroid City
“Dance The Night” from Barbie
“I’m Just Ken” from Barbie
“What Was I Made For?” from Barbie
“Keep It Movin’” from The Color Purple
“Superpower (I)” from The Color Purple
“The Fire Inside” from Flamin’ Hot
“High Life” from Flora and Son
“Meet In The Middle” from Flora and Son
“Can’t Catch Me Now” from The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
“Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)” from Killers of the Flower Moon
“Quiet Eyes” from Past Lives
“Road To Freedom” from Rustin
“Am I Dreaming” from Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Original Score
American Fiction
American Symphony
Barbie
The Boy and the Heron
The Color Purple
Elemental
The Holdovers
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Saltburn
Society of the Snow
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
The Zone of Interest
