Music is a vital part of three of entertainment’s biggest nights: the Academy Awards, whose 97th edition took place on Sunday, March 2; the Grammy Awards, which were celebrated last month; and the Tony Awards, coming up on June 8.
Oscar night opened with Ariana Grande singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz and Cynthia Erivo singing “Home” from The Wiz, the two then joining in a duet of “Defying Gravity” from Wicked.
Music remained prominent throughout the show — even though, in an unusual break with tradition, none of this year’s nominated songs were performed. Only brief snippets of each were heard during the presentation of the two major music awards.
Best Original Score, presented by Mark Hamill, went to British composer Daniel Blumberg for his music for The Brutalist.
The other nominees were John Powell and Stephen Schwartz for Wicked, Volker Bertelmann for Conclave, Clément Ducol and Camille for Emilia Pérez, and Kris Bowers for The Wild Robot.
Best Original Song, presented by Mick Jagger (looking half of his 81 years), went to “El Mal” by Ducol and Camille.
The other nominees were “Mi Camino,” also from Emilia Pérez; “Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late; Diane Warren’s “The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight; and Abraham Alexander and Adrian Quesada’s “Like a Bird” from Sing Sing.
If the nominated songs had been presented, we might have expected Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, Elton John, Warren, and H.E.R. among the performers. No explanation was given for the change in this year’s ceremony, though it was possibly to save on time — as always, the night ran over three hours.
Music Director Michael Bearden led the orchestra, which performed well during the long evening except for a few rough spots in Mozart’s Requiem, heard during the in memoriam segment. The Los Angeles Master Chorale, under Artistic Director Grant Gershon, contributed fine singing to the Mozart.
More music was heard during a tribute to the James Bond franchise: Lisa, of the South Korean girl group Blackpink, sang Wings’ “Live and Let Live.” Doja Cat performed John Barry’s “Diamonds Are Forever.” And Raye completed the tribute with Adele’s “Skyfall.”
The late Quincy Jones, winner of 28 Grammy Awards, received an homage, including a performance by Queen Latifah of “Ease on Down the Road” from The Wiz.
