Wicked’s Oscar-nominated stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo will perform on Sunday’s Oscars, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
While it’s not yet known which song or songs the duo will perform — options include, of course, “Popular,” “Defying Gravity,” “What Is This Feeling?” or some medley thereof — the word is that they will kick off the show.
Earlier this month, Puck reported that “the Academy and executive producers Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan have decided to open the show with a Wicked medley.” Kapoor and Mullan may have “decided” that, but sources close to the telecast and both actresses tell THR that it was not, in fact, a done deal at that time, which is why Erivo categorically denied that it was set to happen.
But everyone has since been brought on board, which makes sense: The Academy and its broadcasting partner ABC envision a likely ratings boost from showcasing the stars of one of 2024’s biggest blockbusters, and Erivo, Grande and the entire Wicked team couldn’t buy better publicity ahead of their film’s forthcoming sequel, Wicked: For Good.
Any Oscars-related decision tends to stir up a certain degree of controversy, and this one will likely prove no exception.
Back in January, the Academy announced that the Oscars would “move away” from live performances of Oscar-nominated songs this year and would instead instead focus on the backstories of the nominated songwriters. You can be sure that the nominated songwriters will be displeased that the telecast will instead feature performances of songs that are not Oscar-nominated. (All of the tunes in Wicked were featured in its Broadway production, and therefore none was eligible for best original song consideration.)
But what’s, well, “popular,” is not a matter for debate. This year’s Oscar-nominated songs — “El Mal” and “Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez, “Like a Bird” from Sing Sing, “Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late and “The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight — are not, whereas the soundtrack to Wicked undeniably is.
Just three years ago, the Oscars prominently featured a performance of the Encanto song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” even though that song had not been submitted for Oscar consideration prior to becoming a cultural phenomenon. But it was performed in addition to the Oscar-nominated songs (at least, the four of them whose performers bothered to show up), not instead of them.
More to come.
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