Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga producer invited to become members of the Academy

Now that Ariana Grande has been nominated for an Oscar, shouldn’t she be able to vote on them?

She’s one of 534 people who have just been “invited to membership” by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences this year. If she accepts, she’ll get to vote on who wins Academy Awards in the future. She was invited as an actor, not as a musician, because that’s the category in which she was nominated.  All the invitees have “distinguished themselves by their contributions to motion pictures.”

In the Music category, new invitees include Brandi Carlile and producer Andrew Watt, who were Oscar-nominated for co-writing “Never Too Late” with Elton John, for the music legend’s Disney+ documentary of the same name.

In addition to his work with Elton, Watt co-wrote and co-produced most of the songs on Lady Gaga‘s latest album, Mayhem. He’s also worked with The Rolling Stones, Pearl Jam, Miley Cyrus, Post Malone, Justin Bieber and many more.

If all 534 invitees accept the invitation, that will bring the academy’s membership up to 11,120, with voting members numbering 10,143. The academy’s membership would then comprise 35% women, 22% from underrepresented communities and 21% international.