The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Pharrell Williams as a performer for this year’s Oscars. The producer-rapper-singer-songwriter is slated to perform “Happy” at the event, which is set to air on ABC March 2 from Hollywood, California.
Williams wrote and produced “Happy” for Despicable Me 2’soriginal soundtrack. The song is up for the original song category at the Oscars.
In December, Pharrell spoke about why he crafted this selection.
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“I wanted to send a reminder [that] there are lots of reasons to smile,” he said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. “You can be resilient with your smile. Why is it so cool to be mad all the time? Some songs, everybody’s so upset.”
Pharrell has worked with Hans Zimmer on the Oscars. In 2012, Williams spoke about his role with the event.
“We have to reinterpret some of the music for the nominees,” he said. “We have to do other music as well that is at times new and original and at others borrowing from movie scenes.”
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During that interview, he also praised Zimmer, who he also calls his mentor.
“It’s an honor for me because I get to be mentored, creative, and credited for learning under the auspices of somebody like him,” Pharrell said. “I’m always honored when he takes my direction and to have direction come from him. It’s really been this interesting collaborative thing. But for me, secretly, it’s still like school and I love it.”
To view this year’s nominees for the Oscars, click here.
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