While handing out the awards during the Oscars ceremony is certainly why most people are watching the show (the time-old tradition of Oscar betting pools playing a role, too) the awards show is known to lean hard into the song-and-dance aspect of Hollywood glamor and that was very much on display during last night’s 97th Academy Awards.
Performances have been a longstanding part of the telecast and here is a breakdown of what happened on that front.
The awards show started with an Oz-themed medley with tunes from “Wizard of Oz,” “The Wiz,” and “Wicked” sung by acting nominees Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo (quite an impressive range from the singer/actress), which was a little jarring given that the Academy decided against Best Song contenders being able to perform throughout the show. Somehow, likely due to the musical’s massive popularity, an exception was made for “Wicked.”
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We also saw Oscar host, Conan O’Brien, pivot to his music-man stage persona as he sang a comedic song about not wasting the audience’s time, and it featured a “Dune” sandworm playing the piano and someone in a “Deadpool” costume shaking their money-maker.
Halle Berry (who played Jinx in “Die Another Day”) in a magnificent broken mirror dress introduced a segment honoring the James Bond franchise with Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson in attendance as the cameras panned to the two the audience. The performance that took place after that saw “Substance” actress Margaret Qualley dancing alongside musicians Doja Cat, LISA of Blackpink, and RAYE singing iconic Bond theme songs such as Diamonds Are Forever, Live & Let Die, and Skyfall.
The late Quincy Jones, who earned a recent honorary Oscar status, got a tribute from “The Color Purple” stars Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey before Queen Latifah sang a version of “Ease on Down the Road” from Jones’ musical “The Wiz.”
We’ll keep our fingers crossed that O’Brien, who made the show mostly light and fun, is asked back to host the Oscars next year and does another performance himself.
