Karen O told the NY Times her Oscar-nominated “The Moon Song” from Herwas inspired by The Jerk. In perhaps the most beautiful scene of that great comedy, Steve Martin plays a ukulele as he and Bernadette Peters sing “Tonight You Belong to Me”. Then, of course, Peters pulls the sweetest cornet solo out of nowhere.
I can see the similarities, in mood as much as anything else. I mean, sure: the couple, the romance, the ukulele are obvious. But the subtle sweetness is what gets me. In recent years “Tonight” has since become a staple for internet covers. I wonder if “The Moon Song” will catch the same universal adoration.
It has just been confirmed: Karen O will perform her Oscar nominated “The Moon Song” from Her at this years awards. She marks the final piece of the puzzle, after recent announcements that her fellow nominees – U2 (“Ordinary Love” from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom), Pharrell Williams (“Happy” from Despicable Me 2), and Idina Menzel (“Let It Go” from Frozen) – will all perform live at the show.
(Scroll down for embedded videos of all 4 songs.)
In recent years, The Oscars have been a bit wishy-washy when it comes to performing the songs during the ceremony. This year will mark the first time all the song nominees have been performed live at the show since 2011.
Of course it helps that the worst, most embarrassing nominee was disqualified. And there are only four remaining to eat into the runtime. And those four are all excellent songs by popular performers.
“Let It Go” is still the prohibitive frontrunner, but it’s win is by no means as assured as it seemed a few months, or even weeks, ago. U2 picked up the Golden Globe, and they have the power of Bono and expert campaigner Harvey Weinstein behind them. Meanwhile, Pharrell Williams just picked up a handful of Grammys and has been campaigning super hard. “Happy” is practically everywhere these days.
Even Karen O has a few angles on the race: Voters could easily opt to show the movie some love in this category where competition might be stiffer elsewhere. As frontwoman for the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, she carries the full weight of the quirky/indie/hipster demographic. And if the more obvious choices split the vote, “The Moon Song” could easily slip in.
Still, “Let It Go” is the most likely. Not only is it actually the best of the nominees, it’s the kind of song the category was meant for: integral to both the film’s story and overall theme. Not to mention, it marks a triumphant return to form for Disney.
Here, for your listening pleasure, are all the songs…
The Screen Life 