Oscars 2021: Ranking The Nominated Performances From Worst To Best

Andra Day felt like she's been acting for years in her debut role as the troubled singer and icon. The R&B singer/songwriter became Billie Holiday seamlessly with an open and brave performance.

The Oscars tend to love it when professional singers turn to Hollywood and quite often their nominations can feel undeserving resulting from a form of special treatment (Lady Gaga comes to mind). That is not the case here, Day is exceptional and fully commands the screen with a presence of an actor with decades more experience.

Although the film itself is a conventional biopic with few instances of greatness, Day raises the film up to a new level of praise with a gutsy and brutal portrayal of the troubled singer's life.

With a shocking upset victory at the Golden Globes, The Best Actress category has refused to settle on a frontrunner over the course of the season making it incredibly hard to predict who could win. The smart money is likely on Viola Davis or Carey Mulligan but Day is not to be counted out. This is a remarkable performance worthy of recognition and she is more than deserving of her nomination.