It’s been a strange year for the Academy Awards. Not only is the show is reportedly going on without a host after the Kevin Hart debacle, there’s the issue around the performances for Best Song. At first, the Oscars telecast was only going to feature two performances, “Shallow” from A Star is Born and “All the Stars” from Black Panther — both of which were top 10 hits. The decision was made to help prevent the telecast from running too long, which is a recurring problem.
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Now, according to Variety, the telecast will feature performances all five nominees for Best Song, although each song will be a 90-second rendition in order to save time. Yesterday, the Academy tweeted out that Jennifer Hudson will perform “I’ll Fight” from RBG. Then, they followed up that tweet by announcing that “The Place Where Lost Things Go” from Mary Poppins Returns will be performed by “a surprise guest,” which is widely assumed to be star Emily Blunt, who performed the song in the film.
Things we'd like to announce today:
1. @IAMJHUD will perform the nominated song "I'll Fight" on the #Oscars!
2. This has been our favorite tweet of the day.
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) January 31, 2019
Spoiler Alert: "The Place Where Lost Things Go" from "Mary Poppins Returns" will be performed on the #Oscars.
BONUS SPOILER ALERT: It will be performed by a surprise special guest!
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) January 31, 2019
Sources have said that the Best Song nominees had talked amongst themselves last week, and some of them agreed to a pact of solidarity, meaning that either all the songs would be performed or none of them would. Though it’s unclear if this actually impacted the Academy’s decision. However, as it stands, all five songs will be performed live on stage — or at least a solid minute-and-a-half of them.
