Oscars Change Rules For Best Original Song Nominees, Category Will Now Feature Minimum Of 5 Nominees

Last year the Best Original Song Oscar category reached an all-time low with only two nominees. It was a forgettable song from “Rio” facing off against a slightly less forgettable song by Bret McKenzie from “The Muppets.” (“The Muppets” song won and Figwit got his Oscar.) Mercifully, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences is changing the rules for how the Best Original Song category is voted on. According to an Associated Press report (via EW), “The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says that the five nominated songs receiving the highest number of votes from music branch members will be up for the final award.” This is significant given that the voting process previously only allowed for songs that earned an average score to be nominated (which should put an end to things like two songs from “The Princess and the Frog” being nominated in the same year). At next year’s Oscar telecast, there will be a minimum of five nominees.

Of course, the question remains – which songs would even be included in the race this year? While they haven’t announced the song (or even who is performing it), we can guess there will be a pretty bitching title track to the Sam Mendes-directed Bond odyssey “Skyfall” (our money is on Adele and her “Rolling in the Deep” collaborator Paul Epworth but that is 100% wild speculation) and the Karen O song from “Frankenweenie” is pretty cool. Beyond that we’re not sure… there was probably a new song in “Brave.” Right?

The only downside to this expanded category is that it will probably allow some pretty lousy tunes to get nominated. We immediately thought of that atrocious Soundgarden song that plays over the credits to “The Avengers” while everyone is waiting for the shawarma scene to play. Someone needs to avenge that tragedy.

Obviously, the other big question is what will these additional song nominees do to the actual broadcast. It’s already long as fuck and in recent years they’ve attempted “creative” solutions to condense the nominees or swiftly speed through them (wasn’t there one year that involved some kind of gauzy interpretive dance?) Last year we don’t even recall the two songs being performed. So that should tell you something.

We’ll find out soon enough, as the Oscars are presented on February 24^th, 2013.