Rihanna and Lady Gaga are set to continue their award season rivalry when they go head to head at the 95th Oscars for best original song.
They received the coveted nods on Tuesday, pulling away from fellow pop megastar Taylor Swift, who was noticeably absent from the list.
Rihanna was nominated for Lift Me Up from Marvel’s blockbuster sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
This year's Original Song nominees are music to our ears. #Oscars #Oscars95 pic.twitter.com/peKQmFD9Uh
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) January 24, 2023
The track marked the Barbadian singer’s first new solo music since the release of her eighth studio album Anti in 2016, and is her first Oscar nomination.
Gaga is nominated for Hold My Hand from Tom Cruise’s high-octane action film Top Gun: Maverick.
A win would be her second in the category, after winning in 2019 for Shallow – written for romantic drama A Star Is Born, in which she starred alongside Bradley Cooper.
Also nominated in the best song category are Applause by Diane Warren from Tell It Like A Woman; This Is A Life from Everything Everywhere All At Once and Naatu Naatu by MM Keeravani & Chandrabose from RRR.
Naatu Naatu has successfully fended off the pop titans thus far, winning the equivalent categories at both the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards earlier this month.
Swift has previously been recognised for her track Carolina, written for the film Where The Crawdads Sing, but failed to earn her first Academy Award nomination.