Actress and singer Sofia Carson, accompanied by songwriter Diane Warren, will perform the Oscar-nominated song “Applause” from Tell It like a Woman at the 2023 Oscars on Sunday, March 12.
This will mark the second year in a row that an artist with Colombian roots has performed on the global telecast. Sebastián Yatra, a native of that country, performed “Dos Oruguitas” from Encanto during last year’s show. Carson was born in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to parents who had emigrated from Colombia.
This will also mark the second time that Warren has performed on the Oscars, a rarity for a professional songwriter who mostly works behind the scenes. Two years ago, she accompanied Italian singing star Laura Pausini on a performance of “Io sì (Seen)” from The Life Ahead. Musical performances that year were part of a red-carpet pre-show, so this will be her first performance on the Oscar telecast itself.
On Thursday, the Academy announced that Rihanna would perform the Oscar-nominated “Lift Me Up” on the telecast. It’s her first performance on the show.
The other nominees for best original song are “Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick (music and lyrics by Lady Gaga and BloodPop); “Naatu Naatu” from RRR (music by M.M. Keeravaani; lyrics by Chandrabose) and “This Is a Life” from Everything Everywhere All at Once (music by Ryan Lott, David Byrne and Mitski; lyrics by Ryan Lott and David Byrne).
This latest booking was announced on Friday (Feb. 24) by executive producers and showrunners Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner, and also executive producer Molly McNearney. The producers will continue to announce talent appearing on the show in the coming weeks.
Carson, 29, released her self-titled debut album on Hollywood Records in March 2022. Her film credits include Purple Hearts, which she also executive produced, Songbird, Feel the Beat, the Descendants trilogy and the upcoming Carry On.
Warren, 66, is one of only eight songwriters in Oscar history to amass 14 or more nominations for best original song. Warren received an honorary award at the Academy’s Governors Awards in November. She was only the fifth person in Oscar history to receive an honorary award and a nomination for a competitive Oscar in the same awards year. The other four include Laurence Olivier and Jerome Robbins.
The announcement of Rihanna’s and Carson’s Oscar performances were expected. When Oscar calls, even the biggest stars usually say yes. Beyoncé opened last year’s show with a memorable performance of “Be Alive” from King Richard. Such other superstars as Adele, U2, Lady Gaga, The Weeknd, Sam Smith, Justin Timberlake, Sting, Elton John and Billie Eilish with Finneas have performed nominated songs on the Oscars in the past decade.
Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, the 95th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 12, at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood, and will be televised live on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide.
