Best Song Oscar Nom's to recieve closer consideration

The Academy Awards have slightly altered the criteria for its Best Song category, in an attempt to make the category more competitive.

A BBC News story reports that the new rules require a nominee to receive a minimum score of 8.25 out of a scale that ranges from six to ten.

Composer Bruce Broughton, head of the Academy's music branch, said, "We're trying to improve the quality" of the competition and make each entry "as good as possible."

Recent winners include "Jai Ho" form 2008's "Slumdog Millionaire," "Falling Slowly" from 2007's "Once," and "I Need to Wake Up," from 2006's "An Inconvenient Truth." The 2006 winner award went to rap group Three 6 Mafia who wrote "It's Hard out Here for a Pimp" for "Hustle & Flow."

The most recent alteration to an Oscar category will surely catch less heat than their previous one, expanding the Best Picture nominees from five to ten.