Following widespread backlash to a report that several original songs were being cut from the 2019 Oscars, at least one will be allowed on the show after all.
Variety reported last week that, in an attempt to cut down the length of this year's Academy Awards, the show's producers would only be allowing two of the five nominees for original song to perform. According to the report, "Shallow" from A Star Is Born and "All the Stars" from Black Panther made the cut, but "I'll Fight" from RBG, "The Place Where Lost Things Go" from Mary Poppins Returns, and “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings” from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs didn't. Typically, all five original songs are performed, and the decision to cut three of them was not received well, especially not by Mary Poppins Returns star Lin Manuel-Miranda.
But the Academy is responding to this controversy right on time — a full week later — by saying that Jennifer Hudson will, in fact, perform "I'll Fight" from RBG.
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The Hollywood Reporter now quotes inside sources as saying Variety's original report was not accurate, suggesting there may turn out to be a place for "The Place Where Lost Things Go" and "When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings," too. No other performances have been officially lined up, though. The Academy should probably get around to clarifying this pretty soon, as the 91st Academy Awards will air on Feb. 24.
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