Lin-Manuel Miranda, Justin Timberlake, and John Legend are all playing this year’s Oscars
The Best Song performances at the Oscars have always been a mixed bag. Sometimes you get Bruce Springsteen belting out “Streets Of Philadelphia,” and sometimes you get an excuse to get up and freshen your drink. This year, though, the Academy has put together a pretty banging slate of performers for its big night, announcing today that Lin-Manuel Miranda, Justin Timberlake, Sting, and John Legend will all be taking the stage at this year’s show.
Miranda, Timberlake, and Sting are all nominated this year, with the Hamilton composer teaming up with Moana star Auli’i Cravalho for that movie’s “How Far I’ll Go.” Sting, meanwhile, will be playing his and J. Ralph’s “The Empty Chair,” from the documentary Jim: The James Foley Story. And Timberlake will be trotting out his irritatingly infectious “Can’t Stop The Feeling,” from last year’s sugar-coated kids comedy Trolls.
Legend, meanwhile, isn’t in the running in 2017. (He won a Best Song trophy of his own back in 2015, for Selma’s “Glory.”) Instead, he’ll be stumping for La La Land, which has two nominations in this year’s race: “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” and “City of Stars.”
The Oscars are scheduled for February 26, broadcast live on ABC. Jimmy Kimmel has been tapped to return as this year’s host.