Only Two Original Song Nominees to Perform Live at Oscars, Academy Producers Tell Nominees (EXCLUSIVE)

The producers of the 98th Academy Awards have made a significant change to this year's ceremony, confirming that only two of the five Best Original Song nominees will be performed live. In a letter obtained by Variety and signed by executive producers Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan alongside producer Taryn Hurd, the Academy cited time constraints and a redesigned broadcast format as the reasons for this decision. The live musical spotlight will fall exclusively on "I Lied to You" from the vampire drama "Sinners" and "Golden" from the animated feature "KPop Demon Hunters."

The remaining three nominated songs will be acknowledged through custom-produced video segments instead of live performances. This group includes "Dear Me" from the documentary "Diane Warren: Relentless," penned by the prolific 17-time nominee Diane Warren; the title track from "Train Dreams" by Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner; and Nicholas Pike's "Sweet Dreams of Joy" from "Viva Verdi!" The Academy, which declined further public comment, emphasized in its letter that every nominee would be treated with equal care and integrated into the show's narrative. Each song will be introduced via a package built from its source film's footage, designed to root the music in its cinematic context, with potential behind-the-scenes material to illuminate the creative process.

According to sources familiar with the Oscars planning, staging full performances for all five songs would add roughly 25 minutes to a telecast that is contractually bound to a three-and-a-half-hour runtime. With 24 competitive categories to present—including the newly introduced award for Best Casting—accommodating five musical numbers would require cutting other planned major moments. This logistical pressure is a recurring challenge for the broadcast. As one industry analyst noted, "The Oscars telecast perpetually battles the clock, forcing producers to make difficult trade-offs between celebration and expediency." This particular constraint is expected to ease after 2029, when the ceremony moves from traditional broadcast television to a streaming home on YouTube, allowing for more flexible formatting.

Beyond the in-show segments, the Academy pledged additional promotional support for all nominees across its official social media platforms, pointing to recent Spotify collaborations as an example of this outreach. The letter framed the two live performances as special musical moments celebrating films where songs played a defining role in global cultural impact. It concluded by reaffirming the Academy's intent to honor all nominees, stating, "Your work is an integral part of our cinematic ecosystem, and we so look forward to honoring it on the show." The 98th Oscars, hosted by veteran comedian and talk-show host Conan O'Brien, will air live on March 15.