The number of live music performances at the 2019 Oscars will be significantly reduced, according to a new report.
Variety says The Academy only wants two live performances this year in order to keep the show under three hours long. The songs that’ve made the cut are Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s “Shallow” from A Star is Born and Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “All the Stars” from Black Panther.
This isn’t the only change being made to keep the show tight. The telecast previously announced that they’ll reveal winners in some of the less-popular categories during commercial breaks.
The three songs that would be left out of the 2019 telecast are “The Place Where Lost Things Go” from Mary Poppins Returns performed by Emily Blunt, “I’ll Fight” from RBG performed by Jennifer Hudson, and “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings” from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, performed on-screen by Tim Blake Nelson and Willie Watson.
Live performances of the Best Original Song contenders have always been a tradition at the Oscars, but the event hasn’t always hosted performances of every nominee — it happened as recently as 2013 and 2016.
It would be a real shame to lose performances from Blunt and Hudson (no offense, Nelson and Watson). One would think that live performances by these artists would help draw in viewers.
Variety reports that the cuts are already causing waves in the Hollywood music industry. Perhaps mounting pressure will cause them to reverse course.
It’s been a dramatic year for the Oscars. The show announced, then scrapped, plans for a new category recognizing popular films. More recently, they hired, then lost, host Kevin Hart after homophobic tweets surfaced from a few years ago. After struggling to find a replacement, The Academy decided that this year’s show will be host-less.
The 2019 Oscars will be broadcast live on Sunday, February 24.