Barbra Streisand will sing at Oscars

By Glenn Whipp

Jan. 30, 2013 12 AM PT

<i>This post has been corrected, as detailed below.</i>

The Oscars are beginning to look a lot like the Grammys.

Barbra Streisand is the latest high-profile singer to sign on to this Academy Awards’ telecast, marking her second performance on the show. The first time was in 1977, when Streisand sang “Evergreen,” the love theme from “A Star Is Born,” winning the original song Oscar later that night for the tune.

“In an evening that celebrates the artistry of movies and music, how could the telecast be complete without Barbra Streisand?” the show’s producers, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, said in a statement.

FOR THE RECORD:
Streisand at Oscars: In the Jan. 31 Calendar section, an article about Barbra Streisand performing at this year’s Academy Awards said that Norah Jones co-wrote “Everybody Needs a Best Friend” with Oscar host Seth MacFarlane for his movie “Ted.” The song, which Jones will sing at the awards, was written by MacFarlane and Walter Murphy.

The producers provided no additional details on what Streisand will sing, but her appearance could encompass a medley of her work in movies such as “Funny Girl,” “Hello Dolly!” and “The Main Event.”

Full coverage: Oscars 2013

Or she could pay vocal tribute to the late composer Marvin Hamlisch, who composed the score and co-wrote the title song to Streisand’s 1973 film, “The Way We Were,” as well as Streisand’s last Oscar-nominated song, “I’ve Finally Found Someone,” from the 1996 movie “The Mirror Has Two Faces.” Hamlisch died at age 68 in August after a brief illness.

Streisand did not perform “I’ve Finally Found Someone” at the 1997 Oscars, choosing to watch from the audience as Celine Dion sang the number.

Streisand’s addition is the latest indication that Zadan and Meron are putting a heavy emphasis on music, befitting their background on Broadway and producing such movies as “Hairspray,” “Footloose” and “Chicago.”

The 85th edition of the awards will include a celebration of three movie musicals from the last decade: “Dreamgirls,” “Chicago” and this year’s best picture nominee, “Les Miserables.” In addition, English chanteuse Adele will sing “Skyfall,” her soulful Top 10 title song from the latest James Bond film, and Norah Jones will perform “Everybody Needs a Best Friend,” a song she co-wrote with Oscar host Seth MacFarlane.

The music-heavy lineup stands in stark contrast to last year’s ceremony, which featured no musical performances, save for Esperanza Spalding’s rendition of “What a Wonderful World” during the “in memorium” segment.

For the Record, 2 p.m. Jan. 30: A previous version of this post referred to “The Main Event” as a movie musical. The film is a comedy but features the title song by Streisand.

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