It’s official: Beyoncé is headed to the 94th Academy Awards in March.
It was announced that the global icon earned a Best Original Song nomination for “Be Alive,” co-written and co-produced with Dixson for King Richard.
This recent nomination marks Beyoncé second in this music category, nominated two years prior for “Spirit,” featured in the live adaptation of Lion King, in 2019. This is Dixson’s first Oscar nod.
Co-writing “Be Alive,” which was nominated in a similar music race at this year’s Golden Globes, is an experience that Dixson told Rated R&B holds dear to his heart.
“I’m very blessed to have a great team behind me. When the opportunity came, I said yes and did my best. When I turned my part of the song in, it wasn’t quite a complete thought. It became complete when she did what only Beyoncé can do.”
When his work is up for major awards, Dixson remains humble. “Truly, I just want to be in service to the music,” he noted to Rated R&B earlier this year. “The acknowledgments, the accolades are not what I come to work for. So I’m encouraged to keep working and motivated to keep making the best music I can, honestly.”
In other Dixson related news, he’s working on a two-part, concept project inspired by his theatrical past.
He explained to Rated R&B, “The concept is really strong. I love that I’m the vessel that gets to deliver it. I’m a Black man, and I love it when I see the vulnerability of Black men in our world. I love watching people give of themselves in a way that we don’t normally get to see in the world. And that is what I’m trying to give with this project. So I hope people are ready.”
Dixson last released DARLING, which was among Rated R&B’s best R&B albums of 2021 list.
See the full list of Best Original Song nominees below.
Best Original Song
“Be Alive” from King Richard; Music and Lyric by Dixson and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter
“Dos Oruguitas” from Encanto; Music and Lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda
“Down to Joy” from Belfast; Music and Lyric by Van Morrison
“No Time to Die” from No Time to Die; Music and Lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell
“Somehow You Do” from Four Good Days; Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
Read here for the complete list of 2022 Oscar nominees.