In 1995, Elton John, along with lyricist Tim Rice, won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from The Lion King. For the live-action remake from director Jon Favreau, Elton John and Tim Rice teamed up once again for a new song that could put Sir Elton in contention to win his second Oscar. Should that happen thanks to The Lion King, Elton John may be facing fierce competition in the form of himself and his biopic Rocketman.
Elton John was already expected to be in the running to win Best Original Song at the 2020 Oscar ceremony thanks to his “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from his fantastical biopic Rocketman. That song plays over the closing credits of the Dexter Fletcher film in a retro music video-esque sequence. It was written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin and performed by Sir Elton and his onscreen counterpart Taron Egerton.
“(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” will have some competition from the Rocketman himself though. The recently announced track listing for The Lion King soundtrack revealed that Elton John and Tim Rice re-teamed to make magic once more. The two collaborated on an end-titles song called “Never Too Late”, which Elton John performs with an African choir.
So as noted by Variety, this means that Elton John will be competing against himself in the Best Original Song race as he looks to win his second Oscar statue. This wouldn’t be the first time the music legend has faced such tough competition though. Back in 1995, The Lion King dominated the category, earning three out of five nominations for the Elton John/Tim Rice collaborations “Hakuna Matata”, “Circle of Life” and the Oscar-winning “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.”
It worked out for Elton John then so we’ll have to see if these songs are both nominated and he again goes home with a statue. His competition has yet to come into focus for the moment. The feature film adaptation of the musical Cats is still to come as is Frozen II. The first Frozen won the award for the song with the highest play count in the history of music “Let It Go.” Also “Speechless” from Aladdin was pretty great.
There is also the question mark of Beyoncé. Beyoncé only appears on the soundtrack listing for the new rendition of “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” alongside Donald Glover. The Lion King soundtrack does have a mystery song on it though for which the title and the artist has not been revealed.
Beyoncé apparently did do a song for The Lion King soundtrack, which would presumably be this mystery song, but it seems it was on her own and not the collaboration with Elton John that he had expressed interest in doing. It would be a shame if Beyoncé and Elton John didn’t collaborate for the soundtrack but either way, Elton John should probably start planning his outfit for next year’s Academy Awards ceremony.
The Lion King opens in theaters on July 19. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to prep for all of this summer’s biggest movies.
