Beyonce is in talks to pull off a stunning opening performance of ‘Be Alive’, her Academy Award-nominated song from Richard Williams biopic King Richard, multiple sources have told Variety.
According to the outlet, the megastar’s representatives have been in talks with the Oscars to do a satellite performance of the song from Compton, Calif. This location, of course, holds great significance in King Richard and the people the drama movie is based on, as it is where Richard would bring daughters and future tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams for their gruelling drills and training regime as children.
One source also told Variety that one possible scenario could see Will Smith, who stars as the titular King Richard, could join her for the performance before heading to the ceremony in time for the Best Actors category, in which he is nominated. Beyonce has performed at the Oscars a number of times in the past, including in 2005, where she performed various tracks from Phantom of the Opera, 2007, where she sang a medley from Dreamgirls along with Jennifer Hudson and Anika Noni Rose and 2009, where she accompanied X-Men star and the host for that year, Hugh Jackman, in singing a medley of musical theatre songs.
Although this is Beyoncé’s first Academy Award nomination, she is no stranger to the big screen.
The singer starred along with Mike Myers in the 2002 comedy movie Austin Powers: Goldmember, lent her voice as Nala for the 2019 remake of the Disney movie The Lion King and, of course, was praised by critics for her role in the 2006 musical movie Dreamgirls.
Whether Beyoncé will end up performing at the ceremony or winning her first Academy Award remains to be seen, but you can see for yourself when the Oscars airs from 20:00 EST on Sunday 27 March, on ABC.
For UK viewers, this will be from 1:00 GMT on Monday 28 March. You can watch The Oscars live on the dedicated Sky Cinema Oscars channel, or via the streaming service NOW.