The nominations in the category of Best Original Song were not announced in February with the rest of the nominations, reportedly because of "a mixup in balloting". It was later reported that the academy had been considering whether Curtis Mayfield's song "Freddie's Dead" from the film Super Fly should be eligible. The song was ruled ineligible for a nomination because its lyrics were not sung in the film.
The scheduled release of Best Original Song nominees was postponed until a later date due to an error in voting, which led to a reevaluation of Curtis Mayfield's "Freddie's Dead" from Super Fly for eligibility.