All four Oscar nominees for this year’s Original Song have been confirmed to perform at the March 12 ceremony – except for Lady Gaga.
Gaga, who was considered a pioneer early in the run, picked up his fourth career nomination for the song “Top Gun: Maverick””hold my hand“, but has not yet been confirmed for the show.
In Oscars tradition, all nominated songs are sung during the ceremony. Rihanna (“Lift Me Up”), Sofia Carson and Diane Warren (“Applause”), Stephanie Hsu, David Byrne and Son Lux (“This Is a Life”) and Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava (“Naatu Naatu”) will all be make appearances this year.
Currently, Gaga is filming “Joker: Folie à Deux”. Director Todd Phillips shared the first image of the star as Harley Quinn on Valentine’s Day opposite “Joker” actor Joaquin Phoenix. It is possible that the logistics of filming prevent him from announcing anything.
Gaga would play her version of the DC Comics character as a psychiatrist who finds herself falling in love with the Joker before taking on his evil ways. Warner Bros. will release the film in theaters on October 9, 2024, five years to the day after the release of the first film.
No news does not mean bad news. There’s always a chance that Gaga will still attend the ceremony but break with tradition by not performing. Organizing an Oscar performance with enough rehearsals is challenging and time-consuming — but we know the Academy and how they like to keep a few surprises up their sleeves. There are six days left before the ceremony and anything can happen. If anyone can pull off a “last minute” surprise, it’ll be the Academy and Lady Gaga.
When she was nominated, Gaga started to social networks to share his gratitude. She wrote, “Thank you so much to the Academy for nominating my song ‘Hold My Hand’ for an Oscar this year! Writing this song for the movie ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ was a profound and powerful experience that I never ‘ll never forget. So grateful for the magic of music and film. Giving props to her co-writer Bloodpop, she signed, “I’m on set filming now big love for little monsters!”
Elsewhere, the multi-hyphenate recently posted a new video, titled “Dom Pérignon x Lady Gaga: The work of creation”, last week for Dom Pérignon, directed by Woodkid with choreography by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui.
If she doesn’t, it won’t be the first time an original song hasn’t been performed at the ceremony. In recent years, Van Morrison, SZA, Kendrick Lamar and Eminem haven’t performed their Oscar-nominated songs. For now, the internet will have to wait impatiently and continue to show up on social media.