Robbie Williams' song Forbidden Road from the movie "Being Better: The Story of Robbie Williams" (2024) was excluded from the Oscar shortlist. This is reported by the Variety portal.
It clarifies that the composition "includes material from an existing song that was not written for the film" and therefore does not qualify for the award — the applicant songs must be "original and written specifically for the film."
The song Forbidden Road was created by Robbie Williams, Freddie Wexler and Sasha Skarbek, the composition is also nominated for a Golden Globe in the Best Original Track category.
However, it was found that the melody of Forbidden Road is similar to the composition I Got a Name by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel, which was performed by Jim Croce in 1973 in the movie The Last American Hero.
A letter was sent to more than 400 members of the music department of the film award, in which the executive committee of the nomination pointed out the similar features of the compositions.