Oscars 2013: Shirley Bassey To Make First Appearance At 85th Academy Awards


Shirley Bassey, the voice behind the theme songs to the James Bond films Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever, and Moonraker, will be making her first appearance at the this year’s awards show, producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced Friday.

Bassey is scheduled to perform during the telecast in recognition of 50 years of the 007 franchise.

Zadan and Meron said in a statement:

“We are thrilled to welcome the legendary Dame Shirley Bassey to our Oscar show. Her association with film music is world-renowned and we are proud that she will be making her first Oscar appearance on our telecast.”

Bassey, whose career spans six decades, has never won an Oscar for her Bond theme songs. But the theme song for the most recent film, Skyfall, is the frontrunner for the Best Original Song at this year’s awards ceremony, and will be performed live by British chanteuse Adele. Skyfall, which is the twenty-third film in the 007 franchise, is the first Bond film to gross over $1 billion in the worldwide box office.

Also performing during this year’s Oscar telecast is Norah Jones, who will be singing “Everybody Needs a Best Friend,” the theme song from Seth McFarlane’s fantasy comedy Ted. Barbra Streisand, who will be making her first Academy Awards performance in 36 years, will also be performing.

At 76-year-old, Dame Shirley Bassey has recorded more than 44 albums and has sold more than 135 million records worldwide. Last June, the Welsh born she sang at Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee concert.

The Oscars will be hosted by Seth McFarlane and will air on ABC February 24.

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