10 Most Surprising Underdog Oscar Victories

Eminem might’ve been the first rap artist to receive the Oscar for Best Original Song but Memphis hip hop group went one step further when they not only won that very same award – for their theme song It’s Hard out Here for a Pimp, no less, from the movie Hustle & Flow – but also performed the winning song during the Academy Awards ceremony.

Most had expected Dolly Parton’s Transamerica theme tune Travelin’ Thru to scoop the award, but Three 6 Mafia triumphed and quite possibly can lay claim to having written the most unlikely titled Best Original Song winner of all time.

After the group got up and gave a very happy and enthusiastic speech, host Jon Stewart remarked ‘That’s how you accept an Oscar!’ and quipped ‘For those keeping track, that’s Three 6 Mafia – one, Martin Scorsese – zero’. Yep, that’s right: at one point in Academy Award history, Three 6 Mafia could boast an Oscar win to their name while the revered Scorsese could not.

The song was toned down somewhat during the group’s performance at the ceremony, however, with the word ‘bitches’ swapped up for ‘witches’ so as not to offend any Hollywood bitches present in the audience.