Doja Cat's song for Elvis deemed ineligible for the Oscars
Members of the Academy's music branch are stepping on Doja Cat's blue suede shoes. "Vegas," penned by the rapper for the Elvis biopic, has been deemed ineligible for the 2023 Academy Awards.
The original score for TÁR, one of the most buzzed about films of the year, has also been disqualified as the eligibility list was made available to Academy members on Monday morning, EW can confirm. The disqualifications, first reported by Variety, affirm previous speculation about the fate of the two tracks at next year's ceremony.
"Vegas," co-written with producers Roget Chahayed and Yeti Beats, is an interpolation of the Presley classic "Hound Dog," dooming it for Oscars consideration. The key lyric "You ain't nothing but a..." is sprinkled throughout, and the Oscars guidelines dictate that words and music must be "original and written specifically for the motion picture."
Doja Cat/YouTube Doja Cat in the 'Vegas' music video
The hit song reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October, marking the rapper's sixth Hot 100 top 10.
As for the "TÁR" score by Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir, ineligibility stems from the insufficient amount of original, clearly audible music, going against guidelines. To be eligible, the scores must not be "diluted by the use of pre-existing music." Much of the audible music consists of symphonies and classic musical excerpts that diluted the score.
Still, the exemption came as Guðnadóttir received a best original score nomination Monday at the 2023 Golden Globes for her work in Women Talking. She recently took home an Oscar for original score at the 2020 ceremony for Joker, becoming the first woman in 20 years to do so.
The 95th Academy Awards will air March 12, 2023 on ABC.
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