Posted by As if JAY-Z and Beyoncé aren’t already a power couple, Mr. and Mrs. Carter could write themselves into Oscars history by becoming the first-ever husband and wife duo to be nominated for the same award.
According to Variety, JAY-Z and Beyoncé are both favorites to receive Best Original Song nods at the forthcoming 94th Academy Awards, thanks to their contributions to The Harder They Fall and King Richard, respectively.
Hov could secure a nomination for “Guns Go Bang,” a collaboration he recorded with Kid Cudi for the soundtrack to The Harder They Fall, an all-Black Netflix Western that he also co-produced. A snippet of the song was debuted in last month’s movie’s trailer.
However, Netflix and Roc Nation have yet to make a final decision over which song will get the Oscars push. The Harder They Fall soundtrack reportedly features 16 original tracks available for submission, although the Academy music branch has strict limits on how many names per song (four) and songs per film (two) can be submitted.
JAY-Z could, instead, be nominated for “The Harder They Fall,” a song performed by Jamaican reggae star Koffee that he co-wrote alongside the movie’s director Jeymes Samuel (who is also a musician in the group The Bullitts).
Meanwhile, Beyoncé could find herself in the same Oscars race as her husband thanks to her original song in the Will Smith-starring King Richard. The track is called “Be Alive” and was produced and co-written by DIXSON, an Atlanta artist signed to JAY-Z’s Roc Nation label.
A new Beyoncé song titled "Be Alive" is featured at the end of the upcoming Will Smith film, #KingRichard. pic.twitter.com/i1zTBxq4EO
— BEYONCÉ LEGION (@Bey_Legion) September 3, 2021
Over a dozen couples have been nominated at the Oscars in the same year, including some for the same film. Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon received nods for Dead Man Walking in 1996, Joel Coen and Frances McDonald were recognized for Fargo in 1997, and the late Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams were both up for awards thanks to 2006’s Brokeback Mountain.
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But no couple has ever been nominated in the same category at the Oscars before — until now, possibly. The 2022 Oscars nominations are set to be announced on February 8, 2022, with the ceremony itself taking place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 27.