Knowles Officially Ineligibile for Oscar Song Credit

The Oscars and the press representative of Dreamgirls film star Beyonce Knowles have confirmed that the star will not be credited as a songwriter if "Listen" is nominated for a Best Song Academy Award, according to GoldDerby.com.

The website broke the news a few days ago, but now the decision is official.  "Various branch executive committees have to make this kind of a decision almost every year, and the decision always comes down to the same thing: who had the most to do with the achievement being considered. It was no different in this case," stated academy PR spokesman John Pavlik. 

"Listen" was an added song written especially for the film version of Dreamgirls.  According to the Academy, the song is written by Henry Krieger, Anne Preven and Scott Cutler.  The Golden Globes have recognized Knowles, as well as Krieger, Preven and Cutler for the song, which is sung by Knowles' character Deena Jones as the previously passive character asserts her own voice and identity.

"It's wrong to say that Beyonce was disqualified because she never qualified. Beyonce is aware of the Oscar rule that says only three songwriters can be nominated. It's all about percentages — how much each person contributed to the song. Beyonce contributed greatly to 'Listen,' but her percentage is lower, so she didn't expect to be eligible for nomination. She's very happy that her co-writers may be recognized," Knowles' rep Alan Nierob stated.

Dreamgirls, also starring Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles, Eddie Murphy, and Jennifer Hudson, is based on the 1981 Broadway hit, originally staged by Michael Bennett. The film is directed and adapted by Bill Condon and produced by Dreamworks.

Dreamgirls is currently nominated for five Golden Globe Awards including Best Motion Picture for a Musical or a Comedy, and Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress in a Musical or Comedy for Knowles and Hudson, respectively.

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