Josh Groban believes in 'Believe'

NEW YORK, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- Whether or not it wins an Academy Award Sunday, singer Josh Groban says he still believes in "Believe."

Groban recorded the Best Original Song nominee -- written by Glen Ballard and Alan Silvestri -- for the holiday film, "The Polar Express." He says it was a welcome change-of-pace from the rest of his repertoire.

"I sing so many songs that are so kind of heart-wrenching and emotional and grand," Groban explains, "that it was so nice to have a song that was just sweet and fun and brought me back to kind of a childhood place and was just kind of a great and beautiful Christmas song. It's not something I'd recorded a lot of.

"And I'm such a huge fan of films and film music, to be a part of that world has been a real dream for me."

Groban will perform "Believe" with Beyonce at Sunday's Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles. Its competition in the Best Original Song category includes "Accidentally in Love" from "Shrek 2," "Learn To Be Lonely" from The Phantom Of The Opera, "Al Otro Lado Del Rio" from The Motorcycle Diaries, and "Look To Your Path (Vois Sur ton Chemin)" from The Chorus.

The Academy Awards will be telecast at 8 p.m. ET Sunday on ABC.