Miranda to Perform “How Far I’ll Go” at This Year’s Academy Awards

Lin-Manuel Miranda will go far at this year’s Oscars

The 37-year-old Puerto Rican actor, playwright, composer, rapper, and writer will perform at this year’s Academy Awards, according to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Lin-Manuel Miranda

Miranda, a first time Oscar nominee and creator of the smash Broadway musical Hamilton, will join voices with part-Puerto Rican Moana voice star Auli’i Cravalho, a recent Annie Award winner, to perform one of the Best Original Song-nominated tracks.

Miranda and Cravalho will perform “How Far I’ll Go,” which he wrote for the hit animated film from Disney.

Other performers include Justin Timberlake, Sting and John Legend.

“We’re thrilled to welcome these world-class artists to the Oscars. These performances will not only celebrate the five extraordinary nominated original songs, but also the integral part music plays in movies,” Oscarcast producers Michael De Luca and Jennifer Todd said in a statement.

Jimmy Kimmel will hosts the 89th Annual Academy Awards on February 26. ABC will air the awards show live from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Trujillo & Metallica to Help Launch Citi Sound Vault During Grammy Week

Robert Trujillo is about to get all intimate…

The 52-year-old Mexican American musician and his Metallica bandmates will be getting in the Grammy-spirit with a special performance in Los Angeles.

Robert Trujillo

Next week, Metallica, a legit arena-level act, will play the far more intimate Hollywood Palladium (capacity 3,700) to inaugurate “Citi Sound Vault,” Citi‘s new live music initiative in conjunction with Live Nation whereby card holders can obtain tickets to see major acts play smaller venues.

Coinciding with Grammy week, Metallica will join The Chainsmokers, Beck and Sting as acts set to play between February 8-12 with tickets going on sell already, exclusively to Citi credit or debit card users via Live Nation’s website.

The shows are as follows:

Sting, February 8 -9
Beck, February 10
The Chainsmokers, February 11
Metallica February 12.

Metallica, in fact, will have to sprint from their Grammy awards performance at Staples Center in downtown L.A. to Hollywood to make their Palladium show. Metallica is also nominated for Best Rock Song for the track“ Hardwired.”

“For nearly a decade, Citi has been providing our cardmembers with incredible access to entertainment,” said Jennifer Breithaupt, managing director, media, advertising and global entertainment for Citi, in a statement. “Now we’re excited to take it to the next level to bring cardmembers true once-in-a-lifetime experiences with some of the world’s biggest artists. Citi Sound Vault brings our cardmembers, access they will never forget.”

Miranda Receives First Oscar Nomination for His Work on Disney’s “Moana”

Lin-Manuel Miranda is thisclose to making history…

The 37-year-old Puerto Rican actor, playwright, composer, rapper, and writer, best known for creating and starring in the Broadway musicals Hamilton and In the Heights, has picked up his first Oscar nomination from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Lin-Manuel Miranda

Miranda, the recipient of an Emmy, two Grammys and three Tony Awards, earned the recognition for his musical work on the Disney animated film Moana. He’s responsible for the music and lyrics for the track “How Far I’ll Go,” which is nominated in the Best Original Song category.

Should he win, Miranda will become the youngest member of the EGOT club (recipients of an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony), replacing Robert Lopez, who completed his quartet in 2014 with a best original song win for Frozen’s “Let It Go.”

He’d be only the second Latino to join the club, following in the footsteps of fellow Puerto Rican multi-faceted artist Rita Moreno.

But Miranda faces stiff competition… “How Far I’ll Go” is up against two songs from Oscar frontrunner La La Land, “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” and Golden Globe-winner “City of Stars,” as well as Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling” from Trolls and Sting’s “The Empty Chair” from Jim: The James Foley Story.

Miranda isn’t the only Latino nominee this year…

Like Miranda, Juanjo Gimenez has also picked up his first nomination. The 53-year-old Spanish filmmaker is nominated for Best Live Action Short Film for “Timecode.”

The short film picked up the Palme d’Or for Best Short Film at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.

Rodrigo Prieto has picked up the second Oscar nod of his career… The 51-year-old Mexican cinematographer is nominated in the Best Cinematography category for his work on Martin Scorsese’s Silence.

Prieto was previously nominated for an Academy Award for his work on Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain, losing the prize to Dion Beebe’s Memoirs of a Geisha.

Other Latino nominees include Richard Alonzo for Best Makeup and Hair for his work on Star Trek Beyond and Adam Valdez for Best Visual Effects for his work on The Jungle Book.

The 89th annual Academy Awards will take place on February 26 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

Here’s the full list of nominees:

Best picture:
“Arrival”
“Fences”
“Hacksaw Ridge”
“Hell or High Water”
“Hidden Figures”
“La La Land”
“Lion”
“Manchester by the Sea”
“Moonlight”

Lead actor:
Casey Affleck, “Manchester by the Sea”
Andrew Garfield, “Hacksaw Ridge”
Ryan Gosling, “La La Land,”
Viggo Mortensen, “Captain Fantastic”
Denzel Washington, “Fences”

Lead actress:
Isabelle Huppert, “Elle”
Ruth Negga, “Loving”
Natalie Portman, “Jackie”
Emma Stone, “La La Land”
Meryl Streep, “Florence Foster Jenkins”

Supporting actor:
Mahershala Ali, “Moonlight”
Jeff Bridges, “Hell or High Water”
Lucas Hedges, “Manchester by the Sea”
Dev Patel, “Lion”
Michael Shannon, “Nocturnal Animals”

Supporting actress:
Viola Davis, “Fences”
Naomie Harris, “Moonlight”
Nicole Kidman, “Lion”
Octavia Spencer, “Hidden Figures”
Michelle Williams, “Manchester by the Sea”

Best director:
“La La Land,” Damien Chazelle
“Hacksaw Ridge,” Mel Gibson
“Moonlight,” Barry Jenkins
“Manchester by the Sea,” Kenneth Lonergan
“Arrival,” Denis Villeneuve 

Animated feature:
“Kubo and the Two Strings,” Travis Knight and Arianne Sutner
“Moana,” John Musker, Ron Clements and Osnat Shurer
“My Life as a Zucchini,” Claude Barras and Max Karli
“The Red Turtle,” Michael Dudok de Wit and Toshio Suzuki
“Zootopia,” Byron Howard, Rich Moore and Clark Spencer

Animated short:
“Blind Vaysha,” Theodore Ushev
“Borrowed Time,” Andrew Coats and Lou Hamou-Lhadj
“Pear Cider and Cigarettes,” Robert Valley and Cara Speller
“Pearl,” Patrick Osborne
“Piper,” Alan Barillaro and Marc Sondheimer

Adapted screenplay:
“Arrival,” Eric Heisserer
“Fences,” August Wilson
“Hidden Figures,” Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi
“Lion,” Luke Davies
“Moonlight,” Barry Jenkins; Story by Tarell Alvin McCraney 

Original screenplay:
“20th Century Women,” Mike Mills
“Hell or High Water,” Taylor Sheridan
“La La Land,” Damien Chazelle
“The Lobster,” Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthimis Filippou
“Manchester by the Sea,” Kenneth Lonergan

Cinematography:
“Arrival,” Bradford Young
“La La Land,” Linus Sandgren
“Lion,” Greig Fraser
“Moonlight,” James Laxton
“Silence,” Rodrigo Prieto

Best documentary feature:
“13th,” Ava DuVernay, Spencer Averick and Howard Barish
“Fire at Sea,” Gianfranco Rosi and Donatella Palermo
“I Am Not Your Negro,” Raoul Peck, Remi Grellety and Hebert Peck
“Life, Animated,” Roger Ross Williams and Julie Goldman
“O.J.: Made in America,” Ezra Edelman and Caroline Waterlow

Best documentary short subject:
“4.1 Miles,” Daphne Matziaraki
“Extremis,” Dan Krauss
“Joe’s Violin,” Kahane Cooperman and Raphaela Neihausen
“Watani: My Homeland,” Marcel Mettelsiefen and Stephen Ellis
“The White Helmets,” Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara

Best live action short film:
“Ennemis Interieurs,” Selim Azzazi
“La Femme et le TGV,” Timo von Gunten and Giacun Caduff
“Silent Nights,” Aske Bang and Kim Magnusson
“Sing,” Kristof Deak and Anna Udvardy
“Timecode,” Juanjo Gimenez

Best foreign language film:
“A Man Called Ove,” Sweden
“Land of Mine,” Denmark
“Tanna,” Australia
“The Salesman,” Iran
“Toni Erdmann,” Germany

Film editing:
“Arrival,” Joe Walker
“Hacksaw Ridge,” John Gilbert
“Hell or High Water,” Jake Roberts
“La La Land,” Tom Cross
“Moonlight,” Nat Sanders and Joi McMillon

Sound editing:
“Arrival,” Sylvain Bellemare
“Deep Water Horizon,” Wylie Stateman and Renee Tondelli
“Hacksaw Ridge,” Robert Mackenzie and Andy Wright
“La La Land,” Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan
“Sully,” Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman

Sound mixing:
“Arrival,” Bernard Gariepy Strobl and Claude La Haye
“Hacksaw Ridge,” Kevin O’Connell, Andy Wright, Robert Mackenzie and Peter Grace
“La La Land,” Andy Nelson, Ai-Ling Lee and Steve A. Morrow
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” David Parker, Christopher Scarabosio and Stuart Wilson
“13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi,” Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Mac Ruth 

Production design:
“Arrival,” Patrice Vermette, Paul Hotte
“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” Stuart Craig, Anna Pinnock
“Hail, Caesar!,” Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh
“La La Land,” David Wasco, Sandy Reynolds-Wasco
“Passengers,” Guy Hendrix Dyas, Gene Serdena 

Original score:
“Jackie,” Mica Levi
“La La Land,” Justin Hurwitz
“Lion,” Dustin O’Halloran and Hauschka
“Moonlight,” Nicholas Britell
“Passengers,” Thomas Newman

Original song:
“Audition (The Fools Who Dream),” “La La Land” — Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
“Can’t Stop the Feeling,” “Trolls” — Music and Lyric by Justin Timberlake, Max Martin and Karl Johan Schuster
“City of Stars,” “La La Land” — Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
“The Empty Chair,” “Jim: The James Foley Story” — Music and Lyric by J. Ralph and Sting
“How Far I’ll Go,” “Moana” Music and Lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Makeup and hair:
“A Man Called Ove,” Eva von Bahr and Love Larson
“Star Trek Beyond,” Joel Harlow and Richard Alonzo
“Suicide Squad,” Alessandro Bertolazzi, Giorgio Gregorini and Christopher Nelson 

Costume design:
“Allied,” Joanna Johnston
“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” Colleen Atwood
“Florence Foster Jenkins,” Consolata Boyle
“Jackie,” Madeline Fontaine
“La La Land,” Mary Zophres 

Visual effects:
“Deepwater Horizon,” Craig Hammack, Jason Snell, Jason Billington and Burt Dalton
“Doctor Strange,” Stephane Ceretti, Richard Bluff, Vincent Cirelli and Paul Corbould
“The Jungle Book,” Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones and Dan Lemmon
“Kubo and the Two Strings,” Steve Emerson, Oliver Jones, Brian McLean and Brad Schiff
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” John Knoll, Mohen Leo, Hal Hickel and Neil Corbould

Juanes to Perform at This Year’s Nobel Peace Prize Concert

Juanes is spreading the Peace for a third time…

The 44-year-old Colombian superstar is set to perform at the 23rd annual Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo, Norway, on December 11, joining a star-studded lineup including Sting, Halsey and Icona Pop.

Juanes

The event is set to take place at Oslo’s Telenor Arena and will be hosted by Conan O’Brien.

“Advocating that all people have a right to live in peace has long been a cornerstone of my music and the work of our foundation, so I’ve been flattered to participate in past Nobel concerts recognizing global leaders pursuing peace across our world,” Juanes said in a statement. “With this year’s award recognizing the efforts of President Santos to bring a lasting peace to my own nation, I am beyond honored to be asked to perform at the ceremony in Oslo once again this year.”

It’s not the first time Juanes has performed at a Nobel Peace Prize concert: The “Fuego” singer performed in 2005 and 2007 for laureates Mohamed ElBaradei and Al Gore.

“Juanes is an old and dear friend to the Nobel Peace Prize Concert, and we are delighted that he will be back on stage this year,” said Olav Njølstad, director of Norway’s The Nobel Institute. “Besides being a brilliant musician he is devoted to charitable work and a strong supporter of the peace process in his home country Colombia. Together with his fabulous band and dancers Juanes will certainly ignite the audience and inject a lot of positive energy into the concert.”

This year’s honorees include Colombia’s president Juan Manuel Santos and Bob Dylan — who became the first musician to earn the Nobel Prize in literature.

Miguel to Perform at “Shining a Light: A Concert for Progress on Race in America”

Miguel is ready to shine a light on race issues in America…

The 30-year-old part-Mexican American Grammy-winning singer-songwriter is set to perform at “Shining a Light: A Concert for Progress on Race in America.”

Miguel

The concert will be broadcast across more than 135 countries on Lifetime and A&E Network beginning November 21 and continuing through December 15.

A+E and IHeartRadio are partnering to bring together Miguel, the Zac Brown Band, Eric Church, Jamie Foxx, Rhiannon Giddens, Tori Kelly, John Legend, Pink, Jill Scott, Ed Sheeran, Sia, Bruce Springsteen, Sting and Pharrell Williams for the concert sparked by tragic shootings in Charleston, Baltimore, Chicago and Ferguson.

Performances will include a once-in-a-lifetime series of duets, focused on reconciliation and positive change around the world.

Additional performers will be announced in coming weeks.

The concert will be recorded at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 18th. The event will kick off A+E Networks’ worldwide campaign to confront issues of race, and to promote unity and progress on racial equity.

The concert and its ancillary programming will help raise money for the Fund for Progress on Race in America powered by United Way Worldwide. The fund will provide grants to individuals and organizations as well as provide support to Mother Emanuel A.M.E. Church in South Carolina and the broader A.M.E. denomination. The fund will support efforts to address racism and bias through public policy change, individual innovation, and community mobilization.

In the U.S., the two-hour special event will air across A+E Networks’ brand portfolio, including A&E, History, Lifetime, H2, LMN and FYI, as well as on iHeartMedia broadcast radio stations and the iHeartRadio digital platform.

Immediately following the concert broadcast, A&E Network will air the one-hour special, Shining a Light: Conversations on Race in America, (tentative title) featuring artists engaging a diverse group of residents in local communities at the center of the national conversation on racial inequality and violence.

Tickets for the November 18 concert are available through AEG Live at AXS.com and shrineauditorium.com.

Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the Fund for Progress on Race in America powered by The United Way Worldwide.

Sanz to Kick-Off World Tour in Torero Style in Cordoba, Spain

Alejandro Sanz is ready to hit the road…

The 46-year-old Spanish singer-songwriter, a 15-time Latin Grammy winner and 3-time Grammy winner, has announced the first date of his upcoming tour.

Alejandro Sanz

Sanz’s concert will feature the live debut of songs from his highly anticipated new album, which will be released this spring.

The concert is set for Cordoba, Spain on July 30. Sanz will best Madonna‘s recent display of tauromaquia style by actually performing in Cordoba’s bullring. In addition to being one of Spain’s first class bullfighting venues, the 16,000 capacity Plaza de Toros is a dramatic concert setting that will also host a performance by Sting this year.

Tickets for Sanz’s show are now available from Ticketmaster. More dates are expected to be announced in the near future.

Sanz also announced through Twitter that his new album’s first single, called “Un Zombie a la Intemperie,” will be released on March 2.

Sanz’s previous album La Música No Se Toca , the twelfth of his career, was released on September 25, 2012. It spawned the hit single “No Me Compares,” staying at No. 1 for 12 consecutive weeks.

Mars Delivers Grammy Night’s Most Memorable Performance

Bruno Mars is becoming the master performer of the Grammys

Following his high-octane performance at last year’s star-studded event, the 27-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer-songwriter took the stage at the 55th Grammy Awards and, once again, delivered the best performance of the night.

The 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards - Show

Mars kicked-off his instaclassic Grammy moment with a rousing rendition of his hit single “Locked Out of Heaven,” which sat at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for several weeks.

Shortly after launching into the first single from his sophomore album, Unorthodox Jukebox, Mars was joined by Sting, the man Mars says inspired the hit single to finish up “Locked Out of Heaven” and launch into the Sting’s Police hit “Walking on the Moon.

Finally, Rihanna, Ziggy Marley and Damian Marley to perform Bob Marley’s “Could You Be Loved” as a tribute to the Jamaica-born reggae legend.

But Mars wasn’t the only Hispanic artist to perform at the Grammys…

Miguel, the leading Latino nominee at the Grammys with five nods, joined voices with Wiz Khalifa to perform his hit single “Adorn.”

The 27-year-old half-Mexican American singer-songwriter’s sizzling-yet-smooth performance has Kelly Clarkson calling it “the sexiest damn thing I’ve ever seen!”

Juanes paid tribute to Elton John with an acoustic, bilingual rendition of one of the singer’s early hits, “Your Song.” The 40-year-old Colombian rockero was a late-addition to the performers’ line-up, but still managed to give a memorable, heartfelt performance.

Mars Releases Retro “When I Was Your Man” Video

Bruno Mars is taking it old school in his latest music video…

The 27-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer-songwriter has just released the official music video for the latest single “When I Was Your Man” from his sophomore album.

Bruno Mars

Directed by Mars and Cameron Duddy, the retro-looking video features the Grammy-winning singer behind a grand piano with a half-empty glass of whiskey on top. Dressed to the nines in a casual suit and a pair of aviator shades, Mars belts out the heartbreaking ballad as he reminisces about all the things he could’ve done to keep his lover.

Before releasing the new clip, Mars teased fans on Twitter, sharing a photograph of a countdown clock for the “When I Was Your Man” clip premiere, along with a simple one-word message “Soon.”

“When I Was Your Man,” the second single from Unorthodox Jukebox, is the follow-up to Mars’ “Locked Out of Heaven,” which spent several weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard charts and broke a Spotify record.

Meanwhile, Mars will perform with Rihanna and Sting at the upcoming Grammy Awards show.

Mars to Perform at the Grammys with Rihanna and Sting

Bruno Mars is preparing to feel the sting of a massive Grammy performance…

The 27-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer will take the stage for an all-star collaboration with Rihanna and Sting at the 55th annual Grammy Awards.

Bruno Mars

Grammy officials just confirmed the special performance, but didn’t disclose any further information on the  collaboration.

Mars has previously admitted that his smash hit “Locked Out of Heaven” was influenced by Sting and the Police. Does this mean viewers could see them tackle the song, with Rihanna somehow adding her flair?

The Grammys also announced several presenters for the show: sixteen-time winner and current nominee Beyoncé, nominee Hunter Hayes, Jennifer Lopez, actor Pauley Perrette and Prince.

Others already confirmed for performances on Grammy night include Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, Maroon 5 and Ed Sheeran.

The Grammys will be broadcast live on Sunday, February 10 from Los Angeles’ Staples Center on CBS from 8:00 pm to 11:30 pm EST.

Juanes to Perform at Bruce Springstreen Tribute Concert

Juanes will be channeling The Boss next month…

The 40-year-old Colombian singer will perform at a special concert in Los Angeles in honor of Bruce Springsteen on February 8, according to the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

Juanes
Springsteen, the winner of 20 Grammy Awards, the first in 1985 for “Dancing in the Dark,” will be recognized for his impressive career and philanthropic activities.

The New Jersey native will be the person of the year at the MusiCares charitable concert, the funds collected from which each year are funneled to beneficial causes.

Juanes, who has sold 15 million albums worldwide, shared the stage last year with The Boss at a tribute in Texas to Woody Guthrie, an influential folk singer who particularly identified with social causes.

Also performing at the Springsteen tribute will be Sting, Elton John, Eddie Vedder, Neil Young, Tom Morello and Tim McGraw, Mumford & Sons and Alabama Shakes, among other artists.

Juanes, who has won several Latino Grammys and is also known for his humanitarian work through his Mi Sangre Foundation, will continue his Loud & Unplugged tour in 2013.