Doja Cat's Elvis track "Vegas" disqualified from 2023 Oscars consideration

As Variety reports, the lists of eligible songs and scores for the 2023 Academy Awards were unveiled to voters yesterday (12 December), and Doja Cat's Elvis song "Vegas", alongside the score for Tár, weren't included.

The eligibility rules state that the lyrics and music must be "original, written specifically for the motion picture" and must be the result of "creative interaction between the filmmakers and the songwriters who have been engaged to work directly on the motion picture." Doja Cat's "Vegas" track features an interpolation of Elvis Presley's classic “Hound Dog”, making it ineligible.

The Tár score, composed by Hildur Guðnadóttir, was also ruled out due to the lack of original, audible music. The film is based on the legendary composer-conductor Lydie Tár, and features excerpts of music she conducted.

Voters will select the 15 scores and 15 songs that will make the shortlist, which will be narrowed down to five nominees in each category. Variety notes that 147 scores and 82 songs were entered, evaluated and declared eligible for the 2023 Oscars.