Pharrell Williams Will Perform During Oscars Telecast

Grammy-winning producer Pharrell Williams will perform during the 86th Academy Awards on Sunday, March 2nd.  Show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron made the announcement on Tuesday that Williams will perform his Oscar nominated song “Happy” during the telecast.

Williams wrote and produced “Happy” for the soundtrack of “Despicable Me 2” and is nominated for Best Original Song.  Other songs nominated for the award include “Let It Go” from “Frozen” (performed in the film by Idina Menzel), U2’s “Ordinary Love” from “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” and “Moon Song” by Karen O. for the movie “Her”.  “Along Yet Not Alone” was nominated for the award but had its nomination rescinded after it was revealed that songwriter Bruce Broughton used improper promotion techniques to attract voters.

Williams has had an extraordinary year.  The 40-year-old singer-songwriter won three Grammy Awards last month for “Album of the Year”, “Record of the Year” and “Best Pop/Group Performance” for his collaboration with Daft Punk for “Get Lucky”.  In addition, his collaboration with Robin Thicke and T.I. netted him another one of the year’s biggest singles with “Blurred Lines”, also nominated for “Record of the Year” and “Best Pop/Group Performance” at this year’s Grammys.

The 86th Academy Awards will be televised on March 2 and hosted by Ellen DeGeneres.