Oscar producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced Dame Shirley Bassey will make her very first appearance on the Academy Awards stage with the 2013 Oscars. This year’s Oscars will include a tribute to James Bond films, and Bassey’s the artist responsible for delivering the theme songs to Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever and Moonraker.
Announcing Bassey’s participation, Zadan and Meron said, “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.”
Per the Academy’s official press statement, Bassey’s sold over 135 million records and has released 44 albums over her six-decade-long career.
In addition to Bassey, Adele (Skyfall‘s theme song), Norah Jones (singing the Oscar-nominated song from Ted) and Barbra Streisand will be performing on the 85th Academy Awards. The presenters confirmed for the show so far include Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Jean Dujardin, Christopher Plummer, Octavia Spencer, Meryl Streep, Mark Wahlberg and Ted. In addition to those presenters, producers Zadan and Meron announced special “guest appearances” by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Daniel Radcliffe, Channing Tatum, and Charlize Theron.
The 2013 Oscars will take place on February 24th at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
