LOS ANGELES (CNS) — Performances of the five Academy Award nominees for best original song — normally a staple of Oscar night — will be included this year in a 90-minute pre-ceremony telecast, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Friday.


What You Need To Know

  • Performances of the five Academy Award nominees for best original song will be included this year in a 90-minute pre-ceremony telecast

  • The pre-Oscars ceremony titled "Oscars: Into the Spotlight" is billed as a show highlighting "nominees' journey to Hollywood's biggest night"

  • The pre-ceremony telecast will begin at 3:30 p.m. local time

  • Performers include H.E.R., Diane Warren and Laura Pausini, and Celeste and Daniel Pemberton among others

The performances will air in a pre-Oscars ceremony titled "Oscars: Into the Spotlight," which is billed as a show highlighting "nominees' journey to Hollywood's biggest night," while also providing a "sneak peek into the party." The show will be hosted by actor Lil Rey Howery and actress Ariana DeBose ("Hamilton").

One of the original song performances — "Husavik" from "Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga," performed by Molly Sanden — will be recorded in Husavik, Iceland. The other four will be recorded at the Dolby Family Terrace at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.

H.E.R. will perform her nominated song "Fight For You" from "Judas and the Black Messiah." Celeste and Daniel Pemberton will perform "Hear My Voice" from "The Trial of the Chicago 7," while Leslie Odom Jr. will perform "Speak Now" from "One Night in Miami" and Diane Warren and Laura Pausini will perform "Io Si (Seen)" from "The Life Ahead (La Vita Davanti a Se)."

The pre-ceremony telecast will begin at 3:30 p.m. local time, leading up to the 5 p.m. Oscar ceremony. The ceremony will then be followed by another telecast titled "Oscars: After Dark" hosted by actors Colman Domingo and Andrew Rannells. 

That telecast will spotlight the evening's winners and highlights.

The April 25 Oscars will be held primarily from Union Station in downtown Los Angeles, along with elements from the usual home of the ceremony, the Dolby Theater in Hollywood.