86th Oscars: Performers Announced

The performers of the four Oscar-nominated Best Original Songs will be appearing on the Oscar telecast. In addition, Bette Midler is slated for an unspecified musical performance.

Before we get to the individual press releases sent out by the Academy, let’s give a quick run down of the nominees and the people performing.

Pharrell Williams will be performing “Happy” from the film Despicable Me 2. Announced on 2/4/14, this was the first talent announced. Hot after his Grammy win as producer and writer on Daft Punk’s Album of the Year, Williams is having a terrific year and his infectious ditty from Despicable Me 2 has been heard everywhere from speaker commercials to radio stations.

Tony Award winning singer Idina Menzel, who earned acclaim as the voice of Elphaba in the musical Wicked gave voice to Elsa in Disney’s Frozen. She will be singing nominee “Let It Go.” This is the first time Disney has submitted only one song from an entire film filled with songs for consideration.

No strangers to the Oscar rodeo, multi-Grammy Award-winning band U2 received their second ever nomination for Best Original Song for the love song from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, “Ordinary Love.”

Karen O receives her first Oscar nomination this year for “The Moon Song” from Spike Jonze’s Best Picture nominee Her. Jonze shares the nomination with O, one of a very small handful of directors who have received writing credits for original songs.

Twice nominated for Best Actress, Bette Midler has sung many songs in Oscar-nominated films, yet this is the firt time she’s ever been asked to perform at the Oscars. They haven’t announced what she’ll be singing, but my guess is that this year’s celebration of The Wizard of Oz may mean she sings some iconic tunes (or just “Over the Rainbow”) for the show. Or she may not.

Bette Midler To Perform On The Oscars®

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – Two-time Oscar®-nominated actress and multiple Grammy Award®-winning singer Bette Midler will perform for the first time on the Oscars, show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today. The Oscars, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, will air on Sunday, March 2, live on ABC.

“We are thrilled to have Bette perform on the Oscars for the very first time,” said Zadan and Meron. “We believe she will make our Oscar telecast an especially moving evening.”

Midler received Oscar nominations for Actress in a Leading Role for “For the Boys” and “The Rose.” She has recorded 13 studio albums, the first of which, 1972’s “The Divine Miss M,” sold over a million copies and earned her a Grammy for Best New Artist. Midler has gone on to sell over 30 million albums worldwide and win two additional Grammys for the songs “The Rose” (Best Female Pop Vocal Performance) and “Wind Beneath My Wings” (Record of the Year). She has been honored with three Emmy® Awards and a special Tony Award® in 1974 for her contribution to that year’s Broadway season. Her numerous starring film roles include “The First Wives Club,” “Down and Out in Beverly Hills” and “Ruthless People,” Last year Midler portrayed the late Hollywood agent Sue Mengers in the hit Broadway production, “I’ll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers.”

Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2013 will be presented on Oscar Sunday, March 2, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscars, produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

Karen O To Perform “The Moon Song” On The Oscars®

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — Singer-songwriter Karen O will, for the first time, perform the Oscar®-nominated original song “The Moon Song” for a global television audience on the Oscars®, show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today. The Oscars, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, will air on Sunday, March 2, live on ABC.

“The Moon Song,” with music by Karen O and lyric by Karen O and Spike Jonze, was written for the film “Her,” directed by Jonze. The three other nominated songs are “Happy” from “Despicable Me 2,” “Let It Go” from “Frozen” and “Ordinary Love” from “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.”

Karen O is the lead singer of the band Yeah Yeah Yeahs, which has released four albums, three of which have been nominated for Grammy Awards®. She previously co-wrote original songs for the soundtrack of Jonze’s 2009 film “Where the Wild Things Are,” receiving a Grammy nomination for the featured song “All Is Love.” Karen O has performed on numerous other soundtracks, including those for “Frankenweenie” “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” and “I’m Not There”.

U2 to Perform “Ordinary Love” On The Oscars®

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — World-renowned rock band U2 will perform their Oscar®-nominated song, “Ordinary Love” for a global audience at the Oscars®, show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today. U2’s exclusive Oscar show performance will be the first time the band will perform the song live. The Oscars, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, will air on Sunday, March 2, live on ABC.

“Ordinary Love” was written by the group for “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” and is nominated for Original Song. The three other nominated songs are “Happy” from “Despicable Me 2,” “Let It Go” from “Frozen” and “The Moon Song” from “Her.”

U2 has sold more than 150 million records worldwide since its formation in 1976. The group has won 22 Grammy® Awards—more than any other band—and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005, its first year of eligibility. The band’s 110-show, 26-month U2360° tour, which ended in July 2011, played to over 7 million fans in 30 countries on 5 continents and was the highest-grossing concert tour of all time. The band is currently in the studio working on a new album.

Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2013 will be presented on Oscar Sunday, March 2, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscars, produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

Idina Menzel To Perform On The Oscars®

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — Tony Award®-winning singer, songwriter and actress Idina Menzel will, for the first time, perform the Oscar®-nominated song “Let It Go” for a global television audience at the Oscars®, show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today. The Oscars, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, will air on Sunday, March 2, live on ABC.

“Let It Go,” written by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez for “Frozen,” is nominated for Original Song. The three other nominated songs are “Happy” from “Despicable Me 2,” “Ordinary Love” from “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” and “The Moon Song” from “Her.”

Menzel won a Tony Award for her performance as Elphaba in the original Broadway production of Wicked. She received a Tony nomination for her Broadway debut in Rent and earned a Drama Desk nomination for her performance in Manhattan Theater Club’s Off-Broadway musical The Wild Party. In March Menzel will star in If/Then, a new Broadway musical about a woman moving back to New York City for a fresh start. In addition to “Frozen,” in which she voices the character of Elsa, Menzel’s film appearances include “Enchanted,” “Ask the Dust” and “Rent.”

Pharrell Williams To Perform On The Oscars®

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — Singer-songwriter-producer Pharrell Williams will perform his Oscar®-nominated song “Happy” at the Oscars®, show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today. The Oscars, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, will air on Sunday, March 2, live on ABC.

“Happy,” which Williams wrote and produced for “Despicable Me 2,” is nominated for Original Song. The three other nominated songs are “Ordinary Love” from “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom,” “Let It Go” from “Frozen” and “The Moon Song” from “Her.”

Pharrell Williams has won seven Grammy Awards®, two (in 2004 and 2014) for Producer of the Year. Named Billboard’s Producer of the Decade in 2010, his productions have sold over 100 million copies. Williams collaborated on two of 2013’s most ubiquitous anthems: Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” which he co-wrote and produced and Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky,” which he co-wrote and also sang. As a solo producer and as part of the prolific producing team The Neptunes, Williams has played a key role in creating a string of hits over more than two decades, including Jay-Z’s “I Just Wanna Love U (Give it 2 Me),” Nelly’s “Hot in Herre,” Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl,” Snoop Dogg’s “Drop it Like it’s Hot,” Britney Spears’ “I’m A Slave 4 U” and Justin Timberlake’s “Like I Love You.”

Comments

2 responses to “86th Oscars: Performers Announced”

Brett

February 19, 2014

Frozen isn’t the first time Disney has only submitted one song for consideration from a musical. I See The Light was the only song submitted for Tangled.

Glad everyone has the original performer this year. It always feels wierd when they get someone else to sing the nominated song.

And I hope Bette doesn’t sing Over The Rainbow, I swear that song is trotted out every 3 years for the ceremony/

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1. Wesley Lovell
  
  February 19, 2014
  
  I knew I had missed something in there. Stupid Tangled. They also have a tendency to pick the song that isn’t the best from the film to get nominated…Tangled and Frozen both worked out the same way.
  
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