Beyonce Disqualified for Oscar Songwriting Category

The Envelope's Gold Derby reports that Beyonce Knowles was not qualified as a songwriter on the song "Listen" from the Dreamgirls film by the songwriting branch of the Oscars. What's known as Rule 16 of the Oscar's eligibility states that only 3 songwriters max can be credited for an Oscar-nominated song. In many interviews promoting the film (and in the credits itself), Beyonce has said that she was involved with writing the song. However, the Oscars are only recognizing Henry Krieger, Anne Preven and Scott Cutler for the song.

The critically acclaimed musical Dreamgirls starring Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles, and Jennifer Hudson, drew in $18.7 million over the weekend, finishing third behind Night at a Museum starring Ben Stiller and The Pursuit of Happiness starring Will Smith.

The film is based on Henry Krieger and Tom Eyen's 1981 Broadway hit, originally staged by Michael Bennett. The film is directed and adapted by Bill Condon and produced by Dreamworks.

Beyonce Disqualified for Oscar Songwriting Category?

---

Updated On: 1/2/07 at 07:37 PM

threads are threads:

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?thread=921539#2720827

---

What a bummer....I thought this was how Beyonce would get recognized for her work on "Dreamgirls."

Sorry to hear the news, but wouldn't you think that someone associated with movie (since they are in the industry) knew of the rule prior to being disqualified.

They've been cutting a lot with number of winners per categories, most famously Best Picture can only be award to three people, hence sometimes the "producers to be determined" when they're announcing the nominees.

---

There's a whole bunch of weird Oscar rules that will likely never be changed. The rules surrounding submissions for Best Foreign Film are the most ridiculous and archaic, but there's often problems in other categories like this too.

I guess it's difference in having a team of FX artists, and determining who contributed a significant portion of the song...maybe in weighing artistic contributions, she did less than the others? OR, it's possible that maybe Beyonce ok'd the omission of herself from the songwriting category because she wanted to save focus on the acting category?

---

Under what circumstances does a song require more than 3 people?? We are not talking about cantatas or symphonies.

Keen

I can't think of any cantata or symphony in the classical canon that was ever written by more than one person, so I don't understand what you mean.

A song is so completely different from those forms you mention.

---

"It seems to me that songs with more than 3 writers should be evaluated on a case by case basis. I understand not wanting repeats of the situation with the SHREK song (7 writers) but if a reasonable explanation can be shown that 4 writers contributed significantly to a song (and LISTEN is a long song) then they should be eligible..."


Yeah, but that's the thing. It would have to be proven that Beyonce made a "significant" contribution. Beyonce is NOTORIOUS for taking credit for songs that were already written. Daddy Knowles has a stipulation that Beyonce always gets a co-writing credit, regardless if Beyonce "wrote" anything or not. Because songwriting rolayties=more money. Mostly, Beyonce will just change a few words for songs that have already been written.

Case in point, the song "Resentment" on Beyonce's latest album was recorded TWICE before, by Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice) and Jazmine Sullivan. But when Beyonce recorded it, she literally changed a couple words and BAM, she "wrote" it. And in the songwriting credits, she's listed FIRST!
LINK:
http://concreteloop.com/2006/09/who-sung-it-better-resentment

And on her hit song "Crazy in Love", she told producer Rich Harrison to write it for her. Yet she still says she "wrote" the song, even though she just came up with the bridge.
LINK:
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1484784/20040203/story.jhtml

This is one of the things I can't stand about her. If you've seen any of her interviews, you see that she claims she "wrote" all the songs on her album. Not "co-wrote" but "wrote". And I'm sorry but changing an "a" to a "the" does not a songwriter make. Songwriting is hard work, and is bugs me that a real musician can do the bulk of the real work, but Beyonce gets to come along, change a few words off the top of her head, and then she's listed first as a "writer". I'm sure the writers/producers she works with agree to the stipulation because they get to have a song on a Beyonce album.

My feeling is that the songwriters of "Listen" probably just put their foot down, and did not want Beyonce to win any awards for THEIR work.

A) To compare Beyonce getting cut from this category to gay marriage is not only ignorant, it's simply insane and just silly. You've got to be kidding me!!! Yes, take away my rights as a human being to love and be loved...but GOD FORBID BEYONCE GET OVERLOOKED FOR AN OSCAR! Are you for real? If so, you're sad.

B) I know many, many songwriters who write BRILLIANT pieces alone. This song is FAR from brilliant, and I can't imagine it took more than ONE person, let alone THREE! Beyonce is the type of "songwriter" who contributes a word or two, and demands songwriting credit, to appear more credible. It's a trick, it's a ploy...they all use it. Do you really think Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, or any of these other pop tarts know how to "write"? I mean, REALLY write music? I highly doubt it. "I'm a genie in a bottle baby, gotta rub me the right way" is what Aguilera contributed to that silly song and she got a writing credit...give me a BREAK!

-Vincent

I have to agree with what's been said before. It's sad that she's being cut after already being credited; but given what's been said about other songs she "wrote" it seems like she just had this one coming.

One thing I have to say.... it one or two people can write an entire score why can't less than four write a 3-4 minute song? This rule makes perfect sense to me.

I understand the rule but at the same time it is bull****, especially since I think the singers should get an award whether they wrote it or not.