Oscars Original Song 2017: Lin-Manuel Miranda, Justin Timberlake, John Legend To Perform [VIDEO]
All five nominated songs at the 2017 Oscars will be performed live, by some of the best artists in the world.
The Academy announced today that the five nominated songs in the Best Original Song category at this year's Oscars will be featured during the ceremony broadcast.
Justin Timberlake is slated to perform his commercially successful song "Can't Stop the Feeling!" from the movie Trolls. Timberlake co-wrote the smash hit single with Mac Martin and Karl Johan Schuster.
Broadway superstar Lin-Manuel Miranda will join Moana star Auli'i Cravalho in singing "How Far I'll Go". Miranda wrote the music and lyrics for the song.
Sting is set to perform his song "The Empty Chair" from Jim: The James Foley Story, a song he cowrote with J. Ralph.
So where does that leave the two La La Land songs? Despite "Audition (The Fools Who Dream)" and "City of Stars" being the signature showcase songs for Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, respectively, neither will perform them live on stage. Instead, their co-star, John Legend, will perform both songs.
Legend is a previous Oscar winner for his and Common's powerful song "Glory" from Selma, which was a standout musical moment at the 2015 Oscars.
Oscar producers Michael De Luca and Jennifer Todd helped announce these performers today and said in a joint statement, "We're thrilled to welcome these world-class artists to the Oscars. These performances will not only celebrate the five extraordinary nominated original songs, but also the integral part music plays in movies."
Last year only three of the five nominees for Best Original Song were performed at the Oscars. The Weeknd performed "Earned It" from Fifty Shades of Grey, Lady Gaga delivered a powerful performance of "'Til It Happens to You" from The Hunting Ground and Sam Smith performed "Writing's On the Wall" from Spectre, which won the category.
The 2017 Oscars will take place Sunday, Feb. 26 at 8:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. PT on ABC, with host Jimmy Kimmel.
