It’s fitting that on Hollywood’s biggest night a song titled “City of Stars” took home the Oscar for Best Original Song, though we have a feeling that the firm responsible for counting all the votes and handing out the envelopes, PricewaterhouseCoopers, would prefer everyone be singing “Blame Canada” today.
But whether you wanted the song from La La Land to win, or preferred one of the other nominees (like the other song from La La Land, for instance), each number got its moment in the sun with a live performance that showed why it was worthy of its nomination. So in case you missed any of them, or just want to see them again, here are all the performances of the Best Original Song nominees from last night’s Academy Awards.
“How Far I’ll Go” from Moana, performed by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Auli’l Cravahlo
(Music and Lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda)
Even at 16 years old, Auli’l Cravahlo feels like she’s overdue for stardom. Plenty of people were hoping her song would win, not only because it’s beautiful and perfect for the movie, but because it would have EGOTed composer Lin-Manuel Miranda. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be last night (that will happen eventually), but at least we got an awesome bonus intro to the song from Miranda, as well as a delightful intro to the whole performance from Moana costar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
And special kudos to Cravahlo for getting hit by one of the flags but not letting it impact her performance. Those of us watching at home couldn’t help but swear at the flag guy.
“The Empty Chair” from Jim: The James Foley Story, performed by Sting
(Music and Lyric by J. Ralph and Sting)
All alone in the dark with a single spotlight and his acoustic guitar (and his particularly weird way of holding it) was Sting, performing an understated, tender, and touching tribute to journalist James Foley. And if you weren’t tearing up at the end when the picture of Foley and his powerful, timely message came up, then you are made of stone… or must have been in the bathroom.
Sting "The Empty Chair" #Oscars #JamesFoley #DontForget pic.twitter.com/acLntJDut3
— Claire Galati (@claire_galati) February 27, 2017
“Can’t Stop The Feeling” from Trolls, performed by Justin Timberlake
(Music and Lyric by Justin Timberlake, Max Martin, and Karl Johan Schuster)
The whole show started with the world’s shortest JT concert, and it totally worked. Timberlake sounded great, his dancers were awesome, and it set the right mood for the entire night. I mean, not only did it have all of Hollywood up on its feet and dancing, it got Michael Shannon to attempt to look human-ish for a second, as he tried to sing and clap along with the beat. If that doesn’t prove the power of music I don’t know what does.
“City of Stars” and “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” from La La Land, performed by John Legend
(Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul)
John Legend had a supporting role in La La Land, but now we’d immediately like to have him release his own version of the whole soundtrack, because wow. I’m one of those people who think “Audition” is a superior song to “City of Stars,” and while I still think that today, I have an all new appreciation for both after Legend’s powerful performance. And the whole segment was only enhanced by how it was staged, which more than fit the movie. It reminded us why we liked La La Land so much in the first place, and why it took home the Oscar for best Original Song.
 But what was your favorite performance? Sing it loud and proud in the comments below.
Featured Image: ABC
