With the Oscars just about 72 hours away, did you think the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was done with its clownery? According to Variety, Kendrick Lamar and SZA will not be performing the Best Original Song nominee “All the Stars” (from Black Panther) at the show, with an Academy source confirming to the magazine that “the song will not be performed by another act,” either. That means you can strike hearing the song on the telecast, which seems like something that would please the Academy given its initial plan to scuttle three of the five nominated numbers in the first place. When the organization course-corrected and started announcing additional performances, however, “All the Stars” was the only song left unconfirmed. Variety notes that Lamar did not appear at the Grammys this year either, despite having been nominated for the Panther soundtrack, and also reports that the reason for his Oscars absence, “according to a source close to the situation, is logistics and timing.” All four of the other Original Song nominees are still scheduled to be performed on the telecast.
