Brandi Carlile earns first Oscar nom for Elton John documentary
Jan 23, 2025, 12:50 PM
Brandi Carlile performs during the Starbucks annual shareholders meeting at WAMU Theater in Seattle, Washington. (Photo: Stephen Brashear, Getty Images)
(Photo: Stephen Brashear, Getty Images)
Included in the flurry of Oscar nominations Thursday morning was Maple Valley native Brandi Carlile and her song “Never Too Late.”
Her song, which she wrote alongside Elton John, Bernie Taupin and Andrew Watt, was made for the documentary “Elton John: Never Too Late.” It was nominated in the Original Song category alongside two songs from “Emilia P茅rez,” a song from “The Six Triple Eight” and a song from “Sing Sing.”
More on Oscars 2025: 鈥楨milia P茅rez鈥� leads Oscar nominations with 13, setting record for a non-English language film
This year’s Original Song nominees are music to our ears.
鈥� The Academy (@TheAcademy)
Despite an accolade-filled career that includes 11 Grammy Awards (and 28 total nominations)聽and two聽Emmy Awards over the last two decades, this is Carlile’s first Oscar nomination.
“I鈥檓 having a hard time fathoming, let alone explaining to anybody what it feels like to be Oscar nominated alongside my greatest heroes of all time for something so meaningful,” Carlile said following the Academy Award nominations. “I honestly can鈥檛 imagine a higher honor.”
More on Brandi Carlile: WA artists took center stage at Sunday night鈥檚 Grammy Awards
The song, a duet sung by Carlile and John, happens to be John’s fifth Oscar nomination. He won for “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from “The Lion King” at the 1995 Academy Awards before winning his second for “(I鈥檓 Gonna) Love Me Again” from “Rocketman” at the 2020 Oscars. His other two nominations were for songs also made for “The Lion King.”
“It鈥檚 an incredible honour to receive this Oscar nomination for ‘Never Too Late,’ alongside my collaborators Brandi Carlile, Bernie Taupin and Andrew Watt,” John wrote on social media. “Thank you to the Academy for this nomination and to everyone who helped bring this beautiful song to the world.”
Jason Rantz on the 2025 Oscars: ‘Emilia Perez’ soars with Oscar nods, but woke progressives undermine its appeal
The Academy Awards ceremony is happening March 2, starting at 4 p.m. and will be broadcasted on ABC while also being simultaneously available on Hulu.
Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest and producer of the Seattle Seahawks podcast, . You can read his stories聽here聽and you can email him聽here.
