Why Is Doja Cat’s “Vegas” Song From Elvis Ineligible For 2023 Oscars?

Doja Cat is facing her worst nightmare right now. A quiet list unveiled to Academy members came with some real shockers. “Vegas” from Elvis did not appear among the 147 scores and 82 songs determined eligible for voting Monday (Dec. 12). While Doja’s Vegas has been disqualified for the 2023 Oscars, original scores for  Tár and Top Gun: Maverick was also deemed ineligible.

Doja’s ‘Vegas’ Didn’t Meet Academy Rules

“Vegas” is one of the finest songs from Doja Cat, and it comes as a surprise that the Academy doesn’t feel the same way. A quiet list, which was unveiled to Academy members, ruled out Doja’s “Vegas” from the movie Elvis”. This means that the track is not an eligible contender for the 2023 Oscars.

But why? Well, the song, written by Doja Cat and produced by Roget Chahayed and Yeti Beats, contained “interpolated material” from Elvis’s original Hound Dog (1956), which was created by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Per Academy rules, submission for Best Original song should consist of words and music, both of which are original and written specifically for the motion picture.”

Citing that Doja’s track contains existing elements of a pre-existing song, “Vegas” didn’t make its way among the 147 scored and 82 songs that were determined eligible for voting. This means that “Vegas” won’t be contending for the 2023 Oscars.  Shockingly, the other two tracks deemed ineligible for Oscars included the original scores for Tár and Top Gun: Maverick.

Is The List Available To Public?

Per Academy rules, the quiet list containing eligible songs and scores was unveiled Monday (Dec. 12) morning, but only to Academy members, who can access the official website. Voting started yesterday to determine the 15 scores and 15 songs that will be shortlisted for the final five nominees in each category. However, these names haven’t been revealed yet.

Apart from “Vegas”, Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir’s “Tár” was also deemed ineligible, citing an insufficient amount of original and audible music. It was also stated that the track didn’t meet the second rule that “a score shall not be eligible if it has been diluted by the use of pre-existing music.”

Just like “Vegas”, Top Gun: Maverick’s ‘Hold My Hand’ by Lady Gaga was also disqualified. Sources revealed that the song didn’t qualify for two reasons: “It fell short of the amount of original music required (per academy rules, a sequel “must consist of more than 80% newly composed music”) and that it was, also against the rules, “assembled from the music of more than one composer.”

As for Vegas, the song made huge success among global fans. Doja’s song reached no. 10 on the Billboard chart. The song was released on May 6, 2022, through RCA Records and Kemosabe Records as the lead single for the movie. The song’s success made Doja “the artist with the most number ones on Pop Songs this decade among women” as the song made it to number one on the Pop Songs chart.