Lady Gaga reportedly salvaged the Oscars' musical performances


Lady Gaga wasn't happy in this modern world — specifically, a world in which not all the Oscar-nominated songs get to perform at the show — and so she did something about it.
A report last week suggested the Academy, in an attempt to cut the Oscars down to three hours, would only allow two of the five nominated original songs to perform. Gaga's "Shallow" from A Star Is Born would be featured, as would "All the Stars" from Black Panther. But the decision to cut the three others sparked widespread outrage. On Thursday, the Academy tweeted that "The Place Where Lost Things Go" from Mary Poppins Returns and "I'll Fight" from RBG would be performed, and Variety subsequently reported all the songs were now being let on the show.
So what's with this sudden reversal? Well, Deadline reports the producers of the Oscars really did want to cut three of the songs, but either Gaga or her representatives pushed back on the "completely unfair" proposal and threatened to pull her "Shallow" performance. Clearly not wanting to lose what should be one of the evening's most memorable moments, the Academy gave in. But there's a catch: Variety reports that the Academy, still obsessed with trimming the length of the show, is now only going to let each performance last 90 seconds — although according to Collider's Jeff Sneider, they're making time for a possible performance from Queen at the start of the show.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Mysteriously, the Academy tweeted that a "surprise special guest" would perform the song from Mary Poppins Returns, suggesting it won't be sung by actress Emily Blunt, who Deadline reports is "apprehensive" about performing. This mystery guest has not been revealed, although seeing how the Academy's new thing is completely reversing ideas after they're publicly announced, don't be surprised if there ends up being no special guest at all.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
The Great Art Fraud: a 'riveting' tale of a disgraced art dealer
The Week Recommends BBC2 documentary explores extraordinary story of 'class-A grifter' charged with fraud
-
The Roses: Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch star in black comedy reboot
The Week Recommends 'Acidly enjoyable' remake of the 1980s classic features a warring couple and toxic love
-
Why reports of Donald Trump's demise are greatly exaggerated
In The Spotlight US president has once again brushed aside rumours that he's dead
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
The best singers turned actors of all time
In Depth It's not often that someone is born with both of these rare skill sets
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle