There are plenty of paths to Oscar-worthy acting, but only one Academy Award-nominated performance has its origins in the taverns of West Allis and Milwaukee.
With Kate Hudson’s nomination for Best Actress for Song Sung Blue, announced Thursday, the miraculous storm of perseverance and coincidence that brought Mike and Claire Sardina to prominence as a local Neil Diamond tribute act in the ’90s and early ’00s continues to roll like thunder.
In Song Sung Blue – inspired by a 2008 documentary of the same name – Hudson shines as the irrepressible Claire Sardina, delivering don’t-mess-with-me Milwaukee grit with soulful sincerity, not to mention a lovable and spot-on Midwestern accent. (Wait…accent? We have an accent?) Hudson sings Sardina’s parts (opposite Hugh Jackman’s Mike/Lightning) with pure heart and harmony, honoring Sardina’s Patsy Cline tribute with sass, swing and skill.
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It’s Hudson’s first Oscar nod for Best Actress; she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in 2001 for Almost Famous, another music-drenched riff on a true story.
Thanks to Hudson’s tender and powerful performance in Song Sung Blue, Claire Sardina’s life continues to astonish: act one as Thunder with Lightning, act two as Thunder (after Lightning’s death) and act three, an Oscar-nominated portrayal of her odyssey. Much like Hudson suggests as Thunder in Song Song Blue, lightning can strike the same spot twice, or perhaps, in this case, three times.
The 2026 Oscars will air live on ABC at 6 p.m. on Sunday, March 15.
