'The Muppets' song writer talks Oscar nom and performing with Muppets

It's not often that you have a 50/50 shot at winning an Oscar, but that's exactly the position that Bret McKenzie finds himself in after hearing that he is nominated for his original song "Man or Muppet" from The Muppets.

He's got a good chance at winning the award too, seeing as the only other song nominated in the category is "Real in Rio" from the animated movie Rio, written by Brazilian music stars Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown. Although, according to The New Zeland Herald, Rio did better at the box office than The Muppets. Also, both of the other songs nominated in this category before from Muppet movies ("Rainbow Connection" in 1979 and "The First Time It Happens" in 1981) have lost the award, but the odds are definitely with him this time.

More good news for McKenzie: Madonna and Elton John are both out of this race, despite their nominations for Golden Globes. Their songs for W.E. and Gnomeo and Juliet were both kept out of contention because of Oscar voting rules.

McKenzie has already won a Grammy Award for his musical stylings as a member of the band Flight of the Conchords. As Entertainment Weekly ironically pointed out, McKenzie's bandmate Jemaine Clement lends his voice to one of the birds in the animated film.

"I know, imagine if it had been Jemaine's song from Rio," McKenzie told EW. "That would have put real pressure on the band's politics."

Whether he wins the award or not, it's likely that the song will be performed during the ceremony, and McKenzie already knows exactly how that would go down. "It would be great to perform it onstage," he said. "But, however we perform it, there's got to be a manned and a Muppet involved!"