P. Lehman/Barcroft Media via Getty ImagesSaturday night may be alright for fighting, but Sunday night could be alright for winning — if you’re Elton John, that is. He and his longtime songwriting partner Bernie Taupin are nominated for the Best Original Song Oscar for “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again,” which plays over the end credits of Elton’s biopic Rocketman.
In addition to being nominated, Elton also is performing on the Oscar telecast, and at some point, he’ll have to make an appearance at his annual viewing party, which has raised millions for his AIDS Foundation since he started hosting it in 1992.
Elton and Bernie have already won a Golden Globe together for the song, an uplifting and energetic duet between Elton and Rocketman star Taron Egerton. Bernie told ABC News that all the recognition they’ve received for the song — and for the Rocketman project in general — means a great deal to both Elton and him.
“It means that the ride’s been worth it and…the blood, sweat and tears that we’ve put into our work over the last 53 years has all been worth it,” Bernie said. “And it’s been a wonderful ride. And I think we’ve been incredibly blessed to still be around and still be appreciated the way that we have been all through the late ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, and into the ’20s.”
But Bernie says he and Elton aren’t taking anything for granted — they don’t want to jinx anything.
As he told Variety recently, “I spoke to Elton and told him, ‘People keep saying we’re the front-runners,’ and he kept saying, ‘I don’t want to hear that, I don’t want to hear that, I don’t want to hear that.’ So, we don’t want to hear that! We’ll have fun either way.”
The Oscars air at 8 p.m. Sunday on ABC.
