It’s award season, and there are always some surprises, but this one is certainly well deserved. Hot on the heels of his breakout album Beauty Behind The Madness, The Weeknd has scored an Oscar nomination at the 88th annual Academy Awards.
His steamy, chart-topping hit “Earned It” from Fifty Shades of Grey is a strong contender in the Original Song category.
His fellow nominees include Lady Gaga and Diane Warren (“Til It Happens to You” from The Hunting Ground), Sam Smith and Jimmy Napes (“Writing’s On the Wall” from Spectre), David Lang (“Simple Song #3” from Youth), and J. Ralph and Antony Hegarty (“Manta Ray” from Racing Extinction).
A humbled Weeknd took to Twitter to react to the honor. “It can’t get more surreal than this. thank you for the recognition @TheAcademy . truly a proud moment,” he tweeted.
Sam Smith also celebrated his first Oscar nomination, writing, “Unreal. Freaking out. Thank you Academy – Thank You Thank You Thank You.”
Congrats to our Original Song nominees #Oscars #OscarNoms pic.twitter.com/Q9eW5OIOWG
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) January 14, 2016
it can't get more surreal than this. thank you for the recognition @TheAcademy . truly a proud moment.
— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) January 14, 2016
This is my Oscar Nomination face. Unreal. Freaking out. Thank you Academy – Thank You Thank You… https://t.co/Penjai6TIk
— Sam Smith (@samsmithworld) January 14, 2016
(Photo by Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images North America)
Big Congrats to both Abel and Sam!
