Every nominee for best original song, except for “All the Stars” from Black Panther, was performed tonight on the glamourous Oscars stage.
Music has been one of the biggest stars of the show tonight. As we covered earlier, Queen started off the night right with a performance of some of their biggest hits. As viewership has been on the decline for the ceremony the past few years, bringing in big name performers is one way to increase viewership.
Jennifer Hudson was the first to perform, singing her song from RBG. Her performance was very powerful, backed by visuals from the film.
The other performances featured Bette Midler singing “The Place Where Lost Things Go” from Mary Poppins Returns and David Rawling and Gillian Welch singing “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings” from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.
The most anticipated performance of the night was the main track from A Star is Born, “Shallows,” performed by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. It was a simple, stripped down performance with just a piano. Cooper and Lady Gaga stepped up to the stage from the crowd and gravitated towards one another as the song went on, ending the song in a close, poignant embrace.
The song later went on to win the award for Best Original Song. Congrats to the Star is Born team on the win, and we will see if the film continues to win through the rest of the night.