He’s got that good soul in his feet! Justin Timberlake kicked off the 2017 Oscars on Sunday, February 26, with his performance of “Can’t Stop the Feeling” — the tune that earned him his first-ever Oscar nomination for best original song. Watch a clip of his performance above!
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The 36-year-old started his performance from outside the Dolby Theatre, singing his way to the stage where he was joined by a gaggle of dancers dressed in their Oscar best. Timberlake segued into a rendition of Bill Withers’ ‘Lovely Day’ as he went into the front rows of the audience, where he even did a quick two step with wife Jessica Biel.
The A-listers in the audience, like Charlize Theron, Taraji P. Henson, Halle Berry, Sting, Nicole Kidman and fellow former Mouseketeer Ryan Gosling grooved to the song Timberlake cowrote with Max Martin and Karl Johan Schuster for the animated film Trolls. He voiced the curmudgeonly troll Branch for the movie, which also featured the voices of Anna Kendrick, James Corden and Gwen Stefani. When the nomination was announced on January 24, the Memphis, Tennessee, native took to Twitter to express his excitement:
“SPEECHLESS. WOWOWOW!!!!!!! Thank you SO MUCH @TheAcademy for this nomination for #CantStopTheFeeling !! Congrats to ALL the nominees –JT”
SPEECHLESS. WOWOWOW!!!!!!! Thank you SO MUCH @TheAcademy for this nomination for #CantStopTheFeeling ‼Congrats to ALL the nominees!! -JT
— Justin Timberlake (@jtimberlake) January 24, 2017
Timberlake cowrote three other songs for the animated musical and produced most of the tunes for the soundtrack, which features songs by Ariana Grande, Zooey Deschanel, Anna Kendrick and Gwen Stefani. Check out the music video for “Can’t Stop The Feeling” here.
During an interview with Deadline.com on January 24, the singer-actor said he was deeply honored to get recognition from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. “I’m really humbled by the whole thing,” he shared. “I think most of all, I was excited the whole year that people responded to the song. Now more than ever we need something that puts a kick in someone’s step and unites us through a good feeling. I think that is what I was always most happy about, that it gives people a good feeling. For the Academy to recognize this song? Wow. Yeah, I’m pinching myself.”
Having won four Emmys and ten Grammys already, Timberlake’s Oscar nomination nudges him ever closer to the coveted EGOT — the holy grail for artists, in which they earn an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony. Whoopi Goldberg, Mel Brooks and Audrey Hepburn are the most famous among the 12 luminaries who have received all four awards.
