It is apparently a time to celebrate the connection of Hollywood and hip-hop, as Oscar nominated Joaquin Phoenix heads into a rap career while the Academy Awards' first guest list announcement includes none other than the Best Original Score and Best Original Song nominees, equally embracing the stage in Los Angeles. As musicians finally begin to mingle with Hollywood's A-listers (think Josh Groban and January Jones), the blurred line makes sense even as their crafts molds into one. Among the nominees, which was announced in its entirely on January 22nd, include Peter Gabriel's “Down to Earth,” from the animated WALL-E, as well as “Jai Ho” and “O Sava” from this year's biggest underdog, Slumdog Millionaire. Perhaps one of this year's biggest snubs, however, was Miley Cyrus' “I Thought I Lost You” from the animated flick, Bolt. The single, written by Cyrus and Jeffrey Steele and performed by Cyrus and her costar, John Travolta, garnered Oscar buzz even before the Golden Globes nominations were announced, earning the young 16 year old comparisons to Katherine Hepburn, Barbra Streisand and more, as she would be one of the few actress to also see awards for both her music and “acting.” While that dream has been demolished this year, Genesis singer Peter Gabriel is seeing success along with Hindi musicians for the Slumdog Millionaire crew.



This isn't the first time Gabriel is seeing nomination success at the Academy Awards; in the late ‘90s he earned an Academy Award nomination for the single “That'll Do,” written by Randy Newman, for the film Babe: Pig in the City. The two performed the single during the Oscar telecast, as Gabriel has continued to perform on more film soundtracks since that 1998 event (including 2004's Shall We Dance's “The Book of Love,” a cover version of The Magnetic Fields classic hit). Though little has been heard of Gabriel since his soundtrack performances and his latest album (2002's Up) http://www.stubhub.com/peter-gabriel-tickets is a constant supplier of Peter Gabriel tickets as this legend will never go out of style.

This won't have been the first time that music and Hollywood has combined with such passion, as it garners even more attention that the Bodyguard himself, Kevin Costar. The two time Academy Award winner has recently replaced his award stance for a rocker one as he tours the nation with his band Modern West. Their latest (and first) effort was recently released, titled Untold Truths, and is making headlines not because it's fronted by the Dances with Wolves star but because of the originality, simplicity and normalcy of the folk rock music. The group it all about “love,” as Costner says to Voices of America.

Just as Costner begins to change up the norm, so does Gabriel, as he plans on attending this year's Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre, February 22. Gabriel has been in the musical spotlight since the ‘70s with his progressive rock group Genesis, a group that established serious cult status in the early ‘70s due to their avant-garde, electronic beats that were previously unfamiliar during the time. Later, when Gabriel left by the late ‘70s to record as a solo artist, he established himself as a mainstream rocker with multi-platinum success, earning himself the title of international star. More recently he has focused on soundtracks and his company Real World but remains one of the most revolutionary rockers and continues to stream live music that is unforgettable and commercially successful.