Queen have announced that they will perform at the Academy Awards ceremony this Sunday, February 24. The band will be composed of original members guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor, fronted by singer Adam Lambert. (The musicians have been touring together as Queen + Adam Lambert since 2011.) The move follows the success of Bohemian Rhapsody, the biopic about the band and its late frontman, Freddie Mercury.
Bohemian Rhapsody is up for five Oscars in total, including Best Picture, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Film Editing. Rami Malek is nominated for Best Actor for his performance as Mercury; it’s his first ever Oscar nod.
The Oscars ceremony will also feature Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper doing “Shallow” from A Star Is Born. Other confirmed Original Song nominee performances include: Gillian Welch and David Rawlings doing “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings” (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs), Jennifer Hudson singing “I’ll Fight” (RBG), and a “surprise special guest” playing “The Place Where Lost Things Go” (Mary Poppins Returns). The Academy has yet to confirm whether or not Kendrick Lamar and SZA will play their Black Panther single “All the Stars.” The ceremony will not have a host for the first time in 30 years.
Read Pitchfork’s review of Bohemian Rhapsody and its soundtrack.
Follow all of Pitchfork’s coverage of this year’s Oscars.
https://pitchfork.com/news/queen-to-perform-at-2019-oscars
