Get ready for a change at the 2026 Academy Awards, as a new rule will be in effect. This year, only two Original Song nominees will be allowed to perform, Variety announced in a January 30 excusive. Nominated songs have been performed in the past, but last year the telecast did not include performances of any such songs. Instead, they opted for other selections, such as the “Wicked” medley Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo performed to open the show.
GettyWhich Songs Will Be Performed at the 2026 Oscars?
GettyIn a somewhat controversial move, the Academy has selected two out of the five nominees to perform during the live show. Variety’s report says the two songs selected for the 2026 ceremony are “Golden” from the animated hit “KPop Demon Hunters” and “I Lied to You” from the vampire drama “Sinners.”
The report says the Academy sent out a letter explaining the decision, and assured everyone that the Best Original Song category will “remain fully integrated” into the show, despite the performances being limited.
Variety says executive producers Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan signed the letter, along with producer Taryn Hurd. The outlet says the Academy declined to comment for their report on the matter.
The report points out that Diane Warren, a 17-time Oscar nominee, is among the artists whose original music is being excluded from the show. She is nominated for the song “Dear Me” from her documentary “Diane Warren: Relentless.”
Fans React to the New Oscars Song Rule
In a Reddit discussion on the site’s Entertainment forum, movie fans are reacting to the Academy’s decision to only select two songs to be performed live during the broadcast. Many commenters are perplexed by the move. One person pointed out that the song selection could potentially a signal a spoiler about the results, saying, “Nice for the other three nominees to be absolutely sure they’ve lost before the show even starts. Really sets expectations.”
Another commenter found it unfair to favor certain nominated songs over others, observing, “
I’ve actually been saying for years that they should get rid of the live song performances if they’re so desperate to cut down the runtime of the show…but to have performances of some nominees and not others is absurd.”
Someone else lamented the trimming of the In Memoriam montage. They wrote, “Apologies in advance to all the people we had to trim from the “In Memoriam” package because they didn’t test well.”
