The Weeknd photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images, Nina Simone photo by David Redfern/Getty Images, Lady Gaga photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Mission of Burma must have been watching awards shows. With apologies to their "Academy Fight Song," if the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences can’t ever quite get the year’s best music right, what hope does the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have? Each year, the Academy Awards follow a couple of weeks after the Grammys, but that only heightens the sense that movies are the headliner and music is an opening act on the larger awards-show stage.
In 2016, the (film) academy should have been poised to build on some momentum for its musical programming. Last year, Common and John Legend’s "Glory" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song; the two performed their Selma civil-rights anthem in a recreation of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic march on Selma, Ala., and their poignant acceptance speech touched on police brutality, mass incarceration, and voter suppression. It seemed like an improvement, considering 2014 saw a song get un-nominated and a trophy go to someone whose name they (well, Travolta) couldn't bother to get right.
And indeed, musically speaking, the 88th Academy Awards started out on the right one of its two left feet. Oscar nods went to Anohni, Amy, What Happened, Miss Simone?, Lady Gaga, Ennio Morricone, the Weeknd, Straight Outta Compton, Jóhann Jóhannsson, and other names ranging from welcome surprises to reasonable non-shockers. But amid all the #OscarsSoWhite criticism over the awards’ repeated lack of diversity, the show committed an unforced error and left Anohni—"the only transgendered performer ever to have been nominated," and also a singular artist whose appearance might’ve rivaled Elliott Smith’s for the-Oscars-got-something-right-ness—off its list of performers. It’s a ridiculous omission, and it’s a reminder that as recently as 2012, the Oscars were only able to nominate songs by muppets and cartoon birds.
When the Oscars air live on ABC this Sunday, the celebrities, Anohni writes, will "have been paid to do a little tap dance to occupy you while Rome burns." Here’s what to watch for while they’re rearranging the deck chairs on the set of the awards show that really, really liked Titanic.
The Best Song Nods Are Too Decent to Be True
Give the Oscars this much credit: Charlie Puth and Wiz Khalifa’s execrable "See You Again," nominated in this category at the Golden Globes, was quote-unquote snubbed at the Oscars. Whew.
In fact, it was hard to get too worked up about the Best Original Song nominations this year. J. Ralph and Anohni’s nod for "Manta Ray," from Racing Extinction, was a thrilling stunner; the Weeknd’s "Earned It," from Fifty Shades of Grey, made for far too easy puns about a once-shadowy R&B singer who earned his run of recent hits. Sure, it’d be great to see Radiohead’s "Spectre," but you can’t exactly blame the Oscars that Sam Smith’s lackluster "Writing’s on the Wall" made into the Bond film instead.
Lady Gaga’s "Til it Happens to You," from The Hunting Ground? C’mon, a sweeping power ballad is what the Oscars are made for—and with a powerful message no less, given the song's discussion of sexual assault. After Gaga’s Grammys tribute to David Bowie and Super Bowl "National Anthem," this would cap a post-ARTPOP reinvention that notably took shape at last year’s Academy Awards with her Sound of Music medley.
Composer David Lang, a co-founder of the Bang on a Can collective, may not be a household name, but the nod for his "Simple Song #3," from the film Youth and and sung by South Korean soprano Sumi Jo, isn’t entirely unexpected; it also vied for a Golden Globe. Like Anohni, Lang isn’t on the list of performers, which once again removes a chance for the Oscars to be a meaningful cultural event rather than a bloated celebration of the already famous. As Lang told The New Yorker ahead of his previous awards show, "I can’t possibly win."
All of which suggests the eventual winner will inevitably disappoint, right? Heart’s with Anohni, flushed cheeks are with the Weeknd, and hat’s way off to Lang, but head’s with Gaga or, sadly, the Grammy-vetted Smith. Radiohead wouldn’t have stood a chance, anyway.
Do You Know the Score?
John Williams has won five Oscars, and this time he’s up for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, so the Force is probably, um, you know, with him or something. But along with Carter Burwell for Carol and Thomas Newman for Bridge of Spies, this year’s Best Original Score nominees also include Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson, who recorded many noteworthy albums prior to receiving a nod in this category last year for The Theory of Everything. Another contender is film-score legend Ennio Morricone for his work on The Hateful Eight.
So this category may not have the celebrity power of years in which Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor has won or had a chance to win, but it’s not lacking in quality. Nor, as usual for these affairs, does it lack for controversy. Composer and recent cancer survivor Ryuichi Sakamoto’s score with the National’s Bryce Dessner and German electronic musician Alva Noto for Best Picture nominee The Revenant isn’t in the running—and those involved with the project have raised questions.
Musicians Taking the Stage Will Be a Motley Crew
Show organizers keep a tight lid on who’s doing what, but presenters and performers are set to include Best Song nominees the Weeknd, Sam Smith, and Lady Gaga. For reasons yet to be revealed (or not), Dave Grohl has a "special performance" on tap, according to Entertainment Weekly. Last year’s winners Common and Legend will also take the stage, as will 2014 nominee Pharrell and a seven-time nominee, the legendary producer and composer Quincy Jones, who has said he plans to speak about diversity. Anohni won’t be attending.
Some Nominated Movies Are Actually About Music!
Frustrating performance slate aside, musically-minded viewers may at least be able to find musicians to root for within some of the show’s other categories. Straight Outta Compton is up for Best Original Screenplay, while the Amy Winehouse documentary Amy and the Nina Simone documentary What Happened, Miss Simone? are up for Best Documentary Feature. Here’s hoping those last two don’t cancel out each others’ votes.
Let There Be Rock
The night’s host, Chris Rock, is a bit of a music aficionado himself. The comedian’s 2014 film Top Five, for example, brought on the Roots’ Questlove as executive music producer. Rock has a tough enough job presiding over another year’s bloated awards show, and maybe he’ll get some musical accompaniment to back him up. As Anohni wrote, "These are the last days of a great American fake-out sponsored by ExxonMobil, Walmart, Amazon, Google, and Philip Morris." Do you hear the people sing?