Topline
All five songs nominated for Best Original Song at the Oscars will be performed at the ceremony, including Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken” and Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” from “Barbie.”
Ryan Gosling will perform “I’m Just Ken” from “Barbie.” (Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times via … [+] Getty Images)
Key Facts
Gosling, who is also nominated for Best Supporting Actor, was the first performer announced by the Academy for “I’m Just Ken,” his character’s musical number in “Barbie.”
The other four songs up for the songwriting Oscar will also be performed: “What Was I Made For?” from “Barbie,” “It Never Went Away” from “American Symphony,” “The Fire Inside” from “Flamin’ Hot” and “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” from “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
Performers set to hit the stage include Eilish, Jon Batiste, Becky G and Scott George, an Osage Nation singer-songwriter who wrote “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People),” which is sung by Osage Tribal Singers.
Before the Academy’s announcement, Eilish told the Los Angeles Times she “can’t wait” to perform at the ceremony, though she said she finds performing at the Oscars “horribly terrifying.”
Tangent
The Academy announced five previous winners will present each acting award this year, a return to a format it had only tried once during the 2009 ceremony. In 2009, former winners reunited onstage and honored each nominee one by one in presentations that stretched to 10 minutes long, moved nominees to tears and inspired multiple rounds of applause and standing ovations from the audience. The Academy unveiled the first slate of presenters for the ceremony, which includes all four of last year’s acting winners: Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis and Ke Huy Quan from “Everything Everywhere All At Once” and Brendan Fraser from “The Whale.” Other winners set to present include Jessica Lange, Mahershala Ali, Lupita Nyong’o and Matthew McConaughey.
What To Watch For
The 96th Oscars ceremony will take place March 10 at 7 p.m. EST. The show will air on ABC, ABC.com and the ABC app.
Key Background
“Oppenheimer” leads this year’s nominations with 13 total, and after winning top prizes at the Golden Globes and BAFTAs, it is considered the frontrunner to win Best Picture. Other nominees contending for multiple awards include “Poor Things” with 11 nods, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” up for 10 awards, and “Barbie,” nominated for eight prizes.
Further Reading
2024 Oscar Nominations: ‘Oppenheimer’ Leads With 13 Nominations (Forbes)
Oscar Nominations Snubs: ‘Barbie’ Misses Nods For Greta Gerwig And Margot Robbie (Forbes)
