Elton John and Brandi Carlile have earned a nomination for Best Original Song honors at the 97th Academy Awards, due to air on March 2nd, 2025, for their collaborative single “Never Too Late”. The track was inspired by and released alongside a new Elton John documentary of the same name now streaming on Disney+.
As Rolling Stone noted when “Never Too Late” was released in late 2024, “Carlile wrote the song after seeing an early cut of the documentary, and took influence from [Elton John songwriting partner] Bernie Taupin’s signature style. She and John co-wrote the final track, with Andrew Watt adding additional writing and production. ‘When Brandi told me she was so inspired by the early cut of the documentary that she wanted us to co-write a new song for it, I was thrilled,’ John wrote on Instagram. ‘We loved the collaboration so much that it became the title for the film. I’ve known for a long time how great she was but still, reading her lyrics and co-writing with her on the music was deeply moving. Especially given how personal it is to see, seeing my life on the screen, she just perfectly captured the essence of the documentary and why I stopped touring to spend more time with my family. I’m constantly astonished by her craft, she can channel my voice in a way only Bernie has managed to do before. I know Bernie helped guide Brandi on that.’”
The song will compete in the Best Original Song category at the 2025 Oscars against two tracks from Emilia Pérez (“El Mal” and “Mi Camino“), the Adrian Quesada– (Black Pumas) and Abraham Alexander-penned “Like a Bird” from Sing Sing, and the Diane Warren-written, H.E.R.-performed “The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight.
Directed by American filmmaker R.J. Cutler and David Furnish, Sir Elton’s husband, Elton John: Never Too Late profiles the pop superstar on his Farewell Yellow Brick Road concert tour alongside historic concert footage, excerpts from his private journals, and personal footage of his family life behind the scenes. The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 6th, 2024 and enjoyed a limited theatrical release in the United States and United Kingdom ahead of its streaming debut on Disney+ on December 13th, 2024.
In a trailer for Elton John: Never Too Late, John says via voice-over, “I always believe that if you have got enough ambition, you can make it anywhere.” The clip goes on to touch on his meteoric rise to fame, his record-breaking commercial success (“Between 1970 and 1975, Elton John released 13 albums,” onscreen titles read. “7 of them reached #1”), his historic 1975 trip to Dodger Stadium, the period of darkness he endured in its wake (“I didn’t have anything apart from my success and my drugs”), the personal discoveries that helped bring him back to the light (“I was still very naive, I didn’t know I was gay”), and more.
Related: Anatomy Of An EGOT: How Elton John Joined The Rarified Roster Of Entertainment Greats
While this sort of deep-dive documentary is a first for Sir Elton John, he achieved success with his last Disney+ venture, Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium, a concert film documenting his 2022 return to Dodger Stadium, where he famously performed in a sequin Dodger uniform at the height of his fame in 1975. The concert, which wrapped up his record-breaking Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, featured guest appearances by Carlile, Dua Lipa, and Kiki Dee. The Disney+ concert film earned Elton John his first Emmy Award (Outstanding Variety Special), the final piece in his EGOT puzzle.
“Never Too Late” marks the fifth Academy Award nomination for John, all of which have come in the Best Original Song category. At the 1995 ceremony, he earned three separate Best Original Song nominations for tracks he contributed to The Lion King (“Can You Feel The Love Tonight”, “Circle of Life”, and “Hakuna Matata”), eventually winning for “Can You Feel The Love Tonight”. In 2020, “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again”, the original tune John and Taupin wrote for Rocketman star Taron Egerton to perform in the biopic, earned John his second Oscar. While Brandi Carlile is no stranger to prestigious honors—she’s won 11 Grammy Awards on 26 nominations—this marks her first Oscar nod.
In other music-related Oscar news, Broadway musical adaptation Wicked raked in nominations in ten categories including Best Picture, Best Actress (Cynthia Erivo), and Best Supporting Actress (Ariana Grande). Wicked was not the only musical to intrigue the Academy this year, either. Emilia Pérez, the Spanish-language crime musical featuring Karla Sofía Gascón, Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, and more leads the field with 13 nominations, including the aforementioned two nods for Best Original Song.
A Complete Unknown, the Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet, also earned a number of notable nods including Best Picture, Best Director (James Mangold), Best Actor (Chalamet), Best Supporting Actor (Edward Norton, as Pete Seeger), Best Supporting Actress (Monica Barbaro, as Joan Baez), and more.
Below, watch the official music video for “Never Too Late” by Elton John and Brandi Carlile and view a clip of them discussing the inspiration for the track. View a full list of 2025 Academy Award nominees here.
Elton John, Brandi Carlile – “Never Too Late” (Official Music Video)
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