2023 Oscars: Tems Bags Nomination For Writing Rihanna’s Black Panther Song
Fast-rising Nigerian musician, Temilade Openiyi, professionally known as Tems, has received an Oscar nomination in the category of ‘Best Original Song’ for the lead single of the movie, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
The nominees’ list was announced on Tuesday.
The song, which was performed by music superstar, Rihanna, was co-written by Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler, and Oscar-winning composer, Ludwig Göransson, to honor the life and legacy of the late Chadwick Boseman who died from cancer in 2020 at the age of 43.
Boseman played the title character of Black Panther in the first movie which came out in 2018, prior to his death.
Tems had released a statement explaining her role in the creation of the song as well as what informed her songwriting direction.
“After speaking with Ryan and hearing his direction for the film and the song, I wanted to write something that portrays a warm embrace from all the people that I’ve lost in my life.
”I tried to imagine what it would feel like if I could sing to them now and express how much I miss them. Rihanna has been an inspiration to me so hearing her convey this song is a great honour,” she said.
Below is the full list of this year’s Oscar nominees and their categories.
BEST PICTURE
All Quiet on the Western Front
Avatar: The Way of Water
The Banshees of Inisherin
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans
Tár
Top Gun: Maverick
Triangle of Sadness
Women Talking
BEST DIRECTOR
Ruben Ostlund, Triangle of Sadness
Todd Field, Tár
Dan Kwan & Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin
Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans
BEST ACTOR
Austin Butler, Elvis
Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin
Brendan Fraser, The Whale
Paul Mescal, Aftersun
Bill Nighy, Living
BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, Tár
Ana de Armas, Blonde
Andrea Riseborough, To Leslie
Michelle Williams, The Fabelmans
Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Brendan Gleeson, The Banshees of Inisherin
Brian Tyree Henry, Causeway
Judd Hirsch, The Fabelmans
Barry Keoghan, The Banshees of Inisherin
Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Hong Chau, The Whale
Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin
Jamie Lee Curtis, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Stephanie Hsu, Everything Everywhere All at Once
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Todd Field, Tár
Tony Kushner & Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans
Dan Kwan & Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin
Ruben Östlund, Triangle of Sadness
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
All Quiet on the Western Front, by Edward Berger, Ian Stokell & Lesley Paterson
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, by Rian Johnson
Living, by Kazuo Ishiguro
Top Gun: Maverick, Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, Christopher McQuarrie, Peter Craig, Justin Marks
Women Talking, by Sarah Polley
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
All Quiet on the Western Front (Germany)
Argentina, 1985 (Argentina)
Close (Belgium)
EO (Poland)
The Quiet Girl (Ireland)
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Marcel the Shell With Shoes On
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
The Sea Beast
Turning Red
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
All That Breathes
Fire of Love
A House Made of Splinters
Navalny
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Volker Bertelmann, All Quiet on the Western Front
Carter Burwell, The Banshees of Inisherin
Justin Hurwitz, Babylon
Son Lux, Everything Everywhere All at Once
John Williams, The Fabelmans
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Göransson, Rihanna, & Tems, “Lift Me Up,” Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Lady Gaga & Michael “BloodPop,” “Hold My Hand,” Top Gun: Maverick
M. M. Keeravani & Chandrabose, “Naatu Naatu,” RRR
Diane Warren, “Applause,” Tell It Like a Woman
Ryan Lott, David Byrne, & Mitski, “This Is a Life,’ Everything Everywhere All at Once
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
James Friend, All Quiet on the Western Front
Roger Deakins, Empire of Light
Darius Khondji, Bardo
Mandy Walker, Elvis
Florian Hoffmeister, Tár
BEST EDITING
Eddie Hamilton, Top Gun: Maverick
Mikkel E.G. Nielsen, The Banshees of Inisherin
Paul Rogers, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Jonathan Redmond & Matt Villa, Elvis
Monika Willi, Tár
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Christian M. Goldbeck and Ernestine Hipper, All Quiet on the Western Front
Catherine Martin, Karen Murphy, and Beverley Dunn, Elvis
Florencia Martin, Babylon
Dylan Cole, Ben Procter, and Vanessa Cole, Avatar: The Way of Water
Rick Carter and Karen O’Hara, The Fabelmans
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Jenny Beavan, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris
Ruth Carter, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Catherine Martin, Elvis
Mary Zophres, Babylon
Shirley Kurata, Everything Everywhere All at Once
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
All Quiet on the Western Front
The Batman
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Elvis
The Whale
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
All Quiet on the Western Front
Avatar: The Way of Water
The Batman
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Top Gun: Maverick
BEST SOUND
All Quiet on the Western Front
Avatar: The Way of Water
The Batman
Elvis
Top Gun: Maverick
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT
An Irish Goodbye
Ivalu
Le Pupille
Night Ride
The Red Suitcase
BEST ANIMATED SHORT
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse
The Flying Sailor
Ice Merchants
My Year of Dicks
An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It