Though 2011 saw its fair share of cinematic successes, many Academy Awards fans feel talent has been overlooked, particularly in the music category.
For the first time in history, the Academy Awards will feature only two nominees out of five potential slots in the category of Best Original Song. While nominations for even the highest achievement in cinema are not handed out lightly, Oscar fans, and even some songwriters, are noticeably upset at the omission.
The two nods went to the songs “Man or Muppet” from “The Muppets” by Bret McKenzie and to “Real in Rio” from the animated film “Rio” by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown.
The Academy left out songs written by the likes of Elton John (for “Gnomeo & Juliet”), Alan Menken (for “Captain America”) and last year’s winners for “The Social Network,” Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (this year, for “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”), to name a few.
Also among the disappointed was singer/songwriter, Mary J. Blige, whose song “The Living Proof” from one of this year’s major blockbusters “The Help” was also overlooked. Blige has recently been particularly vocal with her discontent, posting links to articles about her exclusion on her Twitter, as well as discussing her disappointment with Bravo TV talk show host, Andy Cohen. Another snubbed diva was Madonna, who just scooped up a Golden Globe award for Best Original Song for “Masterpiece.” The song was on the soundtrack for “W.E.,” a film that Madonna wrote and directed herself.
While this year’s Oscar nominations may have left artists and listeners disappointed alike, there were still notable musical contributions in film. Bloggers like the HitFix’s Melinda Newman listed “Where the River Goes,” (“Footloose”) “Love Builds A Garden” (“Gnomeo & Juliet”) and “Star Spangled Man” (“Captain America”) as their favorites, proving that not getting an Oscar nomination doesn’t equate to failure.
Tune in Sunday, Feb. 26 to see which original song will take home the gold at the 84th Academy Awards.
