Song Crisis
Jennifer Lopez nip slip & Ryan Seacrest baptism overshadow a real Oscar issue:The music dying
The Academy Awards provided many memorable moments for fans of the big screen and the glitz it attracts. From Jennifer Lopez’s alleged “Nip Slip” to Angelina Jolie proving her leg does indeed go all the way to her hip, to Sacha Baron Cohen baptizing Ryan Seacrest, there was a tsunami of twitter buzz throughout the night.
There was however, something that quietly snuck by. The 2011 Academy Awards had only two songs nominated for an Oscar. Never in the history of the award has so few songs been selected. (Only three songs were nominated in 2008, 2005, 1935 and 1934).
In his song acceptance speech, Bret McKenzie (best known for starring in HBO's The Flight of Concords series) thanked Disney for “making movies with songs in them." Afterwards, McKenzie said he was more than happy to have less competition, "Well, I am not sure why they only nominated two songs, but I was very happy with that situation.”
Never in the history of the award has so few songs been selected.
So does this bode bad news for song writers? Fourteen songs were nominated in 1945 (“It Might as Well be Spring” from the movie State Fair took the statue home that year). Past winners include such great names as Tim Rice, Burt Bacharach, Elton John, Oscar Hammerstein II, Randy Newman, Bob Dylan, Eminem and Henri Mancini just to name a few.
Perhaps it was just an anomaly. One has to hope that along with amazing 3D visuals, mind-blowing computer animation, incredible special effects and brilliant writing, there might be room in there for a good song or three.