Oscars 2013: Shirley Bassey to make first appearance at the Academy Awards
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This year’s Academy Awards just got another touch of gold, and not from the Oscar statuettes.
Dame Shirley Bassey, the voice behind the iconic theme songs for the James Bond films “Goldfinger,” “Diamonds Are Forever” and “Moonraker,” will make her first appearance at the awards this month, the show’s producers announced on Friday.
Bassey is slated to perform and will undoubtedly add some fire to the Academy’s planned tribute to 007. The franchise is celebrating 50 years on the big screen and Bassey’s scorching themes are among some of the most well known.
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“We are thrilled to welcome the legendary Dame Shirley Bassey to our Oscar show,” producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron said in a statement. “Her association with film music is world-renowned and we are proud that she will be making her first Oscar appearance on our telecast.”
While Bassey, whose career has spanned more than six decades, never scored an Oscar for her Bond themes, “Skyfall,” the Adele-sung theme song for last year’s Bond film is the front-runner for original song.
Bassey joins a list of performers that include Adele, Norah Jones and Barbra Streisand.
The Oscars will be hosted by Seth MacFarlane and will air on Feb. 24 on ABC.
To mark the occassion, check out Dame Bassey delivering a sizzling performance of this writer’s favorite Bond theme, “Diamonds Are Forever,” below:
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