MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
We're used to seeing the Academy Award nominees for best original song performed live on Oscars night.
(SOUNDBITE OF TIMOTHEE CHALAMET'S "LIKE A ROLLING STONE")
MARTIN: And several of the top 2025 contenders are movies built around big musical performances, including "Emilia Perez," "Wicked," and "A Complete Unknown."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LIKE A ROLLING STONE")
TIMOTHEE CHALAMET: (Singing) Once upon a time, you're just so fine. You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you?
MARTIN: But before the nominations came out yesterday, the Academy revealed that won't happen this year. NPR's Isabella Gomez Sarmiento reports.
ISABELLA GOMEZ SARMIENTO, BYLINE: It's not the first time the Oscars have left performances of the best original song nominees out of the pre-show or ceremony. The last time was in 2012. And producers often experiment with which songs make it into the telecast and who performs them. This year, the Academy's president, Janet Yang, and CEO Bill Kramer announced that presentation for best songs will focus on personal reflections from the songwriting teams instead of live performances.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MI CAMINO")
SELENA GOMEZ: (Singing in Spanish).
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: That's "Mi Camino," one of the two nominees from the musical thriller "Emilia Perez." That film's music and lyrics are by composer Clement Ducol, singer-songwriter Camille and director Jacque Audiard. There's also "El Mal, " as performed by Zoe Saldana.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "EL MAL")
ZOE SALDANA: (Singing in Spanish).
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: The three other nominees honor Grammy and Film Academy darlings, like "The Journey," a song penned by Diane Warren and performed by H.E.R. for the movie "The Six Triple Eight."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE JOURNEY")
HER: (Singing) It's the journey. It's the getting there to where you're going to.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: It's Warren's 16th best original song nomination, though she's never won before. There's also "Like A Bird" from the film "Sing Sing," a song by Abraham Alexander and Black Pumas guitarist Adrian Quesada.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LIKE A BIRD (SING SING ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK)")
ADRIAN QUESADA AND ABRAHAM ALEXANDER: (Singing) Try, try, try. Fly like a bird. Fly, fly, fly.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: And the Elton John documentary, "Never Too Late" got a nod for its titular song - music and lyrics by two-time Oscar winner Sir Elton John, as well as Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt and Bernie Taupin.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NEVER TOO LATE")
ELTON JOHN AND BRANDI CARLILE: (Singing) Was now too late to go shoot out the moon.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: Unless the Academy changes course, which has happened before, we will see one of these songs win an Oscar, but we won't see it live.
Isabella Gomez Sarmiento, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NEVER TOO LATE")
JOHN AND CARLILE: (Singing) Trading gypsies for grooms. If it's never too late for a moment too soon. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
