- Adele's Bond theme appears to be the front runner for an original song Oscar
- Producers have confirmed that she will perform
- Oscars ceremony will feature a special Bond tribute
(EW.com) -- It's always a question: Will the Academy Awards telecast feature performances of the Original Song nominees?
Sometimes the answer is no, but this time ... it's looking like a yes.
Producers have indicated the frontrunner in that category, Adele's massively popular theme to the James Bond thriller Skyfall, will be performed live during the Feb. 24 ceremony.
While the other nominees weren't mentioned in the announcement, it's unlikely one nominee will be allowed to perform unless the other contenders are welcome too — especially since one of them is written by Oscar host Seth MacFarlane and another could be performed by Hugh Jackman.
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Academy Awards producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron confirmed Adele's participation this morning: "She is currently one of the most successful recording artists in the world, and we believe that her performance of Skyfall will be an exciting Oscar moment for audiences watching at the Dolby Theatre and on television screens around the world."
EW special coverage: Oscars 2013
The song is the first 007 theme to be nominated for an Oscar since 1981′s For Your Eyes Only. Previous Bond movies to have song nominees are 1977′s The Spy Who Loved Me and 1973′s Live and Let Die, although none has ever won.
This ceremony will feature a special tribute to James Bond, as part of the super-spy film series' 50th anniversary, and Skyfall also has four other nominations: cinematography, score, sound editing, and sound mixing.
The Oscars will mark the first time Adele, who co-wrote the Skyfall theme with collaborator Paul Epworth, has ever performed the song live.
"It's an honour to be nominated and terrifyingly wonderful to be singing in front of people who have captured my imagination over and over again," Adele said in a statement. "It's something I've never experienced and probably only ever will once!"
Although MacFarlane is nominated as one of the co-writers of Everybody Needs a Friend from Ted, it was performed by Norah Jones — another potential draw for audiences. And Suddenly, the new song added to the musical Les Miserables, was performed by Jackman, who has a Best Actor nomination for the role, as well as a history of turning up on the Academy Awards stage.
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Best Original Song Nominees:
• Before My Time from Chasing Ice, music and lyric by J. Ralph
• Everybody Needs A Best Friend from Ted, music by Walter Murphy; lyric by Seth MacFarlane
• Pi's Lullaby from Life of Pi, music by Mychael Danna; lyric by Bombay Jayashri
• Skyfall from Skyfall, music and lyric by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth
• Suddenly from Les Misérables, music by Claude-Michel Schönberg; lyric by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil
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