Adele will perform the theme song from “Skyfall” at this year’s Academy Awards, the show’s producers said Wednesday.
It marks the first time the British balladeer has performed the song anywhere live. It also will be her first U.S. performance since last year’s Grammy Awards.
Titled “Skyfall,” Adele’s take on the Bond theme song has drawn raves for its lush orchestration and swooning vocals. It’s nominated for an Oscar for Best Song, becoming the first Bond theme up for one of the statues since 1981’s “For Your Eyes Only.”
A spokeswoman for ABC did not immediately respond to questions about whether or not the other nominees for Best Song will perform their numbers as well. But given the perceived favoritism if some but not all of the nominated songs were performed on the show, the announcement makes it likely that all five will be featured on the Oscars.
Reports have already suggested that the cast of “Les Miserables” – including Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Eddie Redmayne, Amanda Seyfried and Elizabeth Barks – will perform on the show. The Academy has not confirmed those reports, but Jackman told TheWrap that he “would love” to perform the nominated song “Suddenly” on the Oscars.
The other nominated songs are “Everybody Needs a Best Friend,” co-written by Oscar host Seth MacFarlane and performed in the movie “Ted” by Norah Jones; “Before My Time” from “Chasing Ice,” performed by composer J. Ralph with Scarlett Johansson and Joshua Bell; and “Pi’s Lullaby” from “Life of Pi,” written by Mychael Danna and Indian singer Bombay Jayashri and performed by Jayashri.
The Best Original Song category has had a number of years of two, three or four nominations instead of the full slate of five; the rules were changed in 2012 to yield a full slate of nominees. In two of the last three years, the Oscar producers have opted not to perform the nominated songs on the show.
The producers have already announced that the show will contain a special tribute to the 23-film Bond series. Despite the fact that those films feature a number of classic theme songs, “Skyfall” is only the fourth Bond song to be nominated for an Oscar, and the first since “For Your Eyes Only” in 1981.
No Bond song has ever won an Oscar, though “Skyfall” is currently considered the favorite in the category.
The announcement of Adele’s participation, strangely, was made by the Academy at 3 a.m. Pacific time.
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