Rejected Lonely Island Oscar song “Why Not Me” asks the important questions

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

According to reports, this year's 90th annual Academy Awards celebration is more than likely to go down as the least-watched Oscars telecast in modern TV history. When looking at the introductory data available from the show, you'll find that the overall audience numbers for this year's Hollywood event had fallen beneath 30 million viewers, which is a record low when compared to 2008's 32 million. When all is said and done, the snazzy orgy of glitz, glam, and bold fashion choices stands to rank anywhere from 15 to 20 percent behind last year's ceremony.

With all of that in mind, those of us who care about this sort of thing can't help but wonder why viewers no longer appear to be interested in tuning in. Is the show becoming too political for some? Are modern day movies simply not capturing the interest of the public like they used to? Is Jimmy Kimmel perhaps wrong personality to host the event? Does high-speed internet make the Oscar information too readily available for those who are curious but are not willing to sacrifice their sacred Sunday night ritual for the annual show?

Perhaps if the academy had approved a song created by The Lonely Island for the event, the water cooler would still be all abuzz with talk of a memorable moment from the commemorative celebration of cinema.

Today, the musical comedy trio The Lonely Island ( Akiva Schaffer, Andy Samberg, and Jorma Taccone) posted a song they wrote for the 90th Oscars show to their YouTube page, which the group says was rejected on account of it being “financially and logistically impossible” to produce. In the song, the group questions the worth of the Oscars show by pointing out the elephant in the room that money-making tentpole blockbusters are rarely (if ever) up for Oscar consideration. While listening to the lyrics (which are pretty damn funny, in my opinion) of the track, it really does make you think about the manner in which the winners are chosen, and perhaps how that Oscars process can benefit from some change moving forward.

Here's a message from the band that was included with the song's release: 

We were asked to write a song for this year’s Academy Awards… Unfortunately, it wasn’t chosen because it was “financially and logistically impossible”, so for fun we thought we’d share the rough storyboards of what would have been a fully shot, star-studded music video of exorbitant cost. All vocals and visuals are temp, so please use your imagination and enjoy!

What do you think the Oscars can do to spice things up for next year's ceremony? Do we need new categories? Should films like WONDER WOMAN and BLACK PANTHER be recognized for their industry-changing excellence? Will an increase in female representation throughout the industry pave the way for some new flavor to be included in the event? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.