Alright, pack it up, folks! The best moment of the 89th Academy Awards happened even before the show began. The Broadway cast of Hamilton sang a bit of Lin-Manuel Miranda‘s Oscar-nominated song “How Far I’ll Go” as a way to wish him luck in the awards and with his performance during the show.
In anticipation of @Lin_Manuel's #TheOscars nomination and performance, #HamiltonBway cast members created this video to wish him well! pic.twitter.com/gIvvHNqOME
— Hamilton (@HamiltonMusical) February 26, 2017
And if that weren’t enough–because it totally could be–Miranda was brought to tears when he was showed the short video clip on the red carpet during a chat with Ryan Seacrest.
#Hamilton cast performs "How Far I'll Go" from #Moana much to @Lin_Manuel's tearful delight #Oscars pic.twitter.com/0FYgz3qTMV
— Jarett Wieselman (@JarettSays) February 26, 2017
And later, was gracious enough to show some love for another nominated song.
.@Lin_Manuel just sang "City of Stars" for us on the red carpet. #Oscars #LaLaLand = pic.twitter.com/t2zaTu3Vu7
— Variety (@Variety) February 27, 2017
Lin-Manuel’s song is nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song and is up against some tough competition. The song’s contenders include Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” from Trolls, Sting’s “The Empty Chair” from Jim: The James Foley Story, and “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” and “City of Stars” that are both from La La Land.
Each song is great in its own right, but we’ve got our fingers crossed that Miranda’s song goes home with the Oscar since Moana is just so darn good. In the film, the song is performed by singer Auli’i Cravalho, who also voices the titular character’s non-musical parts as well.
Whatever the outcome of tonight’s awards, we’re certain that the songs of Moana (all written by Lin-Manuel Miranda) will be a mainstay in our Disney movie sing-along catalog for years to come.
Now if you’ll excuse us, we need to start our Hamilton/Moana mash-up where a brave Pacific Islander girl teaches Alexander Hamilton to sail while he teaches her to rap.
What song do you think will win the Oscar? Let’s discuss in the comments below!
Image: Disney
