The original Material Girl has snapped up a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song.
Madonna was nominated for “Masterpiece,” a midtempo pop ballad she performed and co-wrote for her directorial debut, “W.E.,” about royal rebel Wallis Simpson.
It’s a return of sorts for the singer turned actress turned director, who previously won a Globe in 1997 for best leading actress in a musical or comedy for her portrayal of Argentine political leader Eva Peron in the film “Evita.”
Madonna faces fierce competition from other equally famous front-runners, including Elton John and Mary J. Blige.
John was nominated for his pop song “Hello Hello,” a duet with Madonna doppelganger Lady Gaga from the hit animated flick “Gnomeo & Juliet,” and Blige landed a nomination for her uplifting R&B ballad “The Living Proof” from ’60s Southern maid ensemble “The Help.” Chris Cornell shifted gears from his usual grunge and snagged a nod for his acoustic tune “The Keeper,” from action movie “Machine Gun Preacher,” starring Gerard Butler. In an interesting twist, “Albert Nobb” star Glenn Close wrote the lyrics to “Lay Your Head Down,” performed by Canadian singer Brian Byrne, for the film about a woman living as a man, played by Close.
In the Best Original Film Score category, Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor snagged a nomination for his music with Atticus Ross for “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” directed by David Fincher. Reznor won a Globe for the film score to last year’s Fincher-directed “The Social Network,” in collaboration with Ross.
Other film score nominees announced Thursday were Ludovic Bource for (mostly) silent film “The Artist,” Abel Korzeniowski for Madonna’s “W.E.,” Howard Shore for Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo,” and previous winner John Williams for Steven Spielberg’s World War I drama “War Horse.”
Click here for complete coverage of the nominations and upcoming Golden Globes on January 15.