Dear Gossips, 

Beyoncé was nominated for an Oscar yesterday for the first time. Her song “Be Alive” is contending in the Best Original Song category alongside Billie Eilish and Finneas (“No Time To Die”), Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Dos Oruguitas” from Encanto), Van Morrison (“Down to Joy” from Belfast), and Diane Warren (“Somehow You Do” from Four Good Days) who received her 13th nomination and has yet to win. 

 

Beyoncé’s nomination is one of six for King Richard, including Best Picture. And while The Power of the Dog led the field with the most nominations, in a year that’s been as unpredictable as this one, The Power of the Dog may be considered the favourite, but it is by no means a foregone conclusion. Which is why industry insiders and analysts are saying that campaigning might be more important than ever this year. 

But will Beyoncé actually campaign? She wasn’t much of a presence during the promotional campaign for King Richard ahead of the film’s release and, really, she hasn’t been all that visible, period. Also, Beyoncé’s priority this week isn’t the Oscars, it’s Ivy Heart, her new collection. Because the Queen always put her own paper first, as she should. 

Will Beyoncé show up for the Oscar Nominees’ Luncheon? Will she actually perform at the Oscars? If she agrees to attend, will she and Jay-Z arrive with their own champagne and pass it around in the front row? The Oscars, for sure, will want her there. It’s just a matter of whether or not she wants to be there. 

 

As for whether or not she will win – as you can see, it’s a stacked category and Bond songs always do well at the Oscars. Encanto, however, is probably the movie most voters have seen considering its accessibility and popularity. Seriously, Encanto isn’t just a movie for kids. I don’t have kids and I’ve watched it three times myself, that’s how much I love it, and every parent I know has watched it on their own after the first viewing with their children. Van Morrison, however, could appeal to those older Oscar voters, but maybe it’s finally Diane Warren’s time? Like I said, right now for Best Song, it’s a tough call. 

But then again… Academy voters haven’t yet seen Beyoncé’s name on a final voting ballot before. Leonardo DiCaprio is definitely voting for Beyoncé and then when he arrives at the Carters’ annual Oscar party, he will tell Beyoncé that he voted for Beyoncé.

 

Now that the Academy’s announced the nominations, though, the next assignment is the host. They confirmed a few weeks ago that they will return to a host format for this year’s ceremony…but who? I nominated Channing Tatum but Andrew Garfield has some thoughts: 

Maggie Gyllenhaal too: 

They still have time…but not that much time. Do they have someone locked in and are they waiting for the right moment to confirm it? Or is it that no one actually wants to do it? 

Yours in gossip,

Lainey