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 86th Annual Academy Awards, 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 also have a behind-the-scenes featurette which includes a message from Karen O about how the song was created.
"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.
In addition, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have announced that, for the first time as part of its annual Oscar Week events, the Academy will present a live "Oscar Concert" celebrating this year's nominated scores and songs on Thursday, February 27, at 8 p.m. at UCLA's Royce Hall.
The program features an 80-piece orchestra performing suites from each of the nominated original scores, conducted by their composers. They include:
- William Butler and Owen Pallett, Her
- Alexandre Desplat, Philomena
- Thomas Newman, Saving Mr. Banks
- Steven Price, Gravity
- John Williams, The Book Thief
Prior to each piece, the respective composers will participate in a brief onstage conversation with film critic and radio host Elvis Mitchell about creating their scores.
The concert also will feature this year's nominated original songs, including "Let It Go" from Frozen, performed by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, and "Happy" from Despicable Me 2, performed by Jill Scott. Other special performers and guests will be announced on Oscars.org.
Tickets are $100 and $75 and can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com.
Academy 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.