The Oscars Have Another Chance To Nominate Beyoncé After The Lion King Snub, And Will Smith Is Psyched

Will Smith King Richard trailer screenshot
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Beyoncé is, without question, one of the biggest stars in the world, and she has been for quite some time. She’s won more Grammy awards than any other female singer in the history of the world. However, when it comes to other major awards, Beyoncé hasn’t had quite the same success. While many expected to see her nominated for an Oscar for her song Spirit in the Lion King remake, that did not happen, but now she’ll be taking another shot with a new song in Will Smith’s King Richard.

When Beyoncé does anything we’ve come to expect it to be the best. Her talent is seemingly limitless. She once performed every original song at the Academy Awards, but she’s never been nominated for one. She’ll be in the running for next year’s ceremony, however. Her new song “Be Alive” will be in the movie King Richard, about the lives of tennis greats Venus and Serena Williams and the father that pushed them to conquer the sport. 

Will Smith recently talked to EW about just how excited he is to have the new Beyoncé song in King Richard. Apparently Beyoncé got to see an early screening of the film, and was so inspired by it that she asked to contribute a song. Smith explains...  

The marriage of a movie and a song is a kind of magic that's unmatched in entertainment. I was so happy when Beyoncé called.

I’m sure when Beyoncé was cast as Nala in the remake of The Lion King, there was a conversation early on about her contributing a new song to the film. Most of the Disney remakes that were also musicals have added at least one new song, and it’s usually one sung by the main character’s love interest, who didn’t get a solo song the first time around. And besides, when you have Beyoncé in your movie, there must be some sort of expectation she will also sing. 

But in the case of King Richard there was no expectation that Beyoncé would get involved. It’s possible the reason she was shown an early screening was that there was hope she’d contribute to the project. It’s also possible she just got to see the movie early because she’s Beyoncé. Give a listen to the new song in the trailer below. 

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You’ll have to sit through all of King Richard in order to hear Beyoncé’s song, as it will be played over the closing credits, but based on the hype the song is already getting, I can imagine getting people to hang out in the theater for a few extra minutes to hear it won’t be much of a problem. King Richard arrives in theaters and on HBO Max November 19.  

Dirk Libbey
Content Producer/Theme Park Beat

CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis.  Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.