Tár’s original score and Doja Cat’s Elvis song disqualified from Oscars 2023

Tár’s original score and Doja Cat’s song for Elvis have been deemed ineligible to compete in the song and score categories at the 2023 Oscars.

On Monday (12 December), the Academy quietly unveiled its list of eligible songs and scores to voting members, whose votes will determine the 15 scores and 15 songs that will make up the shortlist from which the final five nominees from each category are chosen.

According to Variety, a total of 147 scores and 82 songs were entered, evaluated and declared eligible by the Academy music branch’s executive committee for the upcoming Academy Awards.

However, the score from Todd Field’s psychological drama and Doja Cat’s original song written for Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis were both excluded from the list.

While Field’s new film, which follows the downfall of renowned orchestra conductor Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett), has earned critical acclaim and a handful of other award nominations, it had been widely predicted that composer Hildur Guðnadóttir’s score wouldn’t meet Oscar requirements.

Sources told Variety that the score was ultimately disqualified because it didn’t contain enough original, audible music and breached the second rule that “a score shall not be eligible if it has been diluted by the use of pre-existing music”.

Despite Tár’s ineligibility, Guðnadóttir’s score for Women Talking recently received a 2023 Golden Globe nod, which bodes well for its Oscar shortlist likelihood, which will be announced on 21 December.

As for Doja Cat’s song “Vegas”, written for the Austin Butler-led Elvis biopic, its eligibility had been debated for months.

While it was written by Doja Cat and produced by Roget Chahayed and Yeti Beats, its inclusion of lyrics from Elvis Presley’s original “Hound Dog”, went against rules that both song and words must be “original, written specifically for the motion picture”.

It must also have been the result of “creative interaction between the filmmakers and the songwriters who have been engaged to work directly on the motion picture”.

Top Gun: Maverick was additionally disqualified from the score list, but will compete in the song category with Lady Gaga’s “Hold My Hand”.