The Grammy Awards refer to themselves as “Music’s Biggest Night” – but this year, there’s another awards show that appears to be reaching for the title. This upcoming weekend’s Academy Awards ceremony is shaping up to be quite the musical event, with announced performances from Adele, Norah Jones, Barbra Streisand, Shirley Bassey, and the evening's host, Seth MacFarlane.

We talk with Melena Ryzik, New York Times culture reporter and blogger for their Carpetbagger blog, about why the show has embraced live music so fully this year -- and what to expect in the major musical awards categories.