Nobody is quite sure what to expect from the Oscars on Sunday, but at least some of the show's entertainment has now been confirmed. While it had previously reported that the the idea of having Queen perform at the Academy Awards this weekend had been scrapped, current Queen front-man Adam Lambert revealed on Twitter today that the band will, in fact, perform this Sunday.
The original report that claimed the Academy was interested in having Queen perform at the Oscars stated that the band would potentially open the show and perform music from Bohemian Rhapsody, the movie nominated for Best Picture which tells the story of the band and its original lead singer, Freddie Mercury.
At the time, it seemed that idea had already been dropped. It's not clear if Queen wasn't interested or if the Academy just changed its mind about having the band play. Now that we know Queen will perform, it seems that either the idea never really died, or whoever killed the idea initially had a change of heart.
How exactly the Oscars was going to handle the portion of the show that wasn't strictly the handing out of awards has been a major question since Kevin Hart stepped down as host of the show and the decision was made to go forward without a host at all.
Normally, the show opens with a movie-themed monologue and also includes a few humorous bits throughout the broadcast, such as Ellen DeGeneres attempting to take a star-studded selfie or Jimmy Kimmel diverting a bus load of tourists to the show.
The host's job is largely to bind the show together and give it all a cohesive feel. Without that role being filled it's been anybody's guess what kind of show we were going to get.
If Queen does in fact open the show, it will certainly set a unique tone for the Oscars, though it has not yet been confirmed if Queen will actually open the Academy Awards or perform at some other point.
It's certainly does go to show exactly how the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences is looking to change things up. The music that we were expecting to hear on the show, the nominees for Best Original Song, was originally going to be limited to only two of the nominees, and now, while all five songs will be performed, the word is each will only be given 90-seconds, rather than being able to perform the complete song. It seems the time that is being saved is being given over to Queen.
Having Queen perform at the Oscars certainly makes a lot of sense. Bohemian Rhapsody is that rare movie that is both an Oscar contender and a popular movie that did well at the box office. It is exactly the sort of film that the Academy wants to focus on as it continues to try and dig out of the slump that the Oscars are currently in. Ratings for the show have been hitting record lows in recent years as there appears to be a growing disconnect between the movies that get nominated and the movies that the average moviegoer actually goes to see.
Will people actually tune in to see Queen perform at the Oscars? We shall see.
