Gone with an Oscar host, now gone with an Oscar performance!
With the Oscars just about 72 hours away, Kendrick Lamar has pulled the plug from the 2019 Oscars, happening on Feb 24th. It’s confirmed that the rapper will not be performing his Oscar-nominated “Black Panther” hit, “All the Stars.”
The reason, due to scheduling conflicts. Neither artist was able to attend the awards ceremony earlier this month, despite being the four fellow nominees’ scheduled to perform.
Could this be a form of protest to the Oscars? No. Apparently Lamar and SZA’s absence is reportedly not in protest of the awards ceremony. The rapper’s team had done their best to work with the Academy to try and make the performance fit his schedule, but unfortunately was unable to follow through.
Producer Donna Gigliotti said “It was our very fervent desire to have ‘All the Stars’ represented on the show,” adding,”We’ve been working on it for a long, long time trying to make that work. But between our production schedule for the show and the creative process with Kendrick, and the fact that he has been out of the country, we just couldn’t make it work. We’re pretty broken-hearted, if the truth be told.”
An Academy source confirmed, the song would not be performed by another artist. This will be the only Best Original Song nominee that will not be sung on the Oscars stage.
The other four Original Song contenders is scheduled to perform on stage this weekend – Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper will do a duet of “Shallow” from A Star Is Born; Bette Midler will be performing “The Place Where Lost Things Go” from Mary Poppins Returns; Jennifer Hudson is set to sing “I’ll Fight,” from the Diane Warren-penned track documentary “RBG,” and Gillian Welch and David Rawlings will perform “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings” from the Coen Brothers’ The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.
The Oscars also announced earlier this week that Adam Lambert and members of Queen will perform during the telecast.
