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. 

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

”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

Advertisement

The Banshees of Inisherin

Elvis

Everything Everywhere All at Once

The Fabelmans

Tár

Top Gun: Maverick

Advertisement

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

Show Comments (1)

Advertisement