The Academy Awards are almost here. The biggest night in cinema is returning this year, celebrating some of the most impactful and powerful moments the movies had to offer this year, from blockbuster hits like “Wicked” and “Dune: Part Two” to critical darlings like “Sing, Sing.”
While the Academy has revealed the official nominations, giving us a glimpse as to who will be in attendance, they have yet to announce the performers at the ceremony. Annually, Oscar performances tend to be from those nominated for Best Original Song, as well as an In Memoriam performance. That being said, one of the Best Picture nominees happens to be one of the biggest musical movies in ages, “Wicked.”
Will we see Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande “take to the Western sky” in an epic performance at the ceremony? Who else do we expect to sing on the Oscars stage? Here’s what we know so far:
Will there be a Wicked Oscar Performance?
Will we get an Oz-inspired performance at the Academy Awards this year? It’s still hard to tell. A few weeks back, reports emerged online alleging that the Academy was looking to have a medley of songs from the hit film open the ceremony, performed of course, by nominees Erivo and Grande.
Just after that news hit the internet, however, Erivo was quick to shut that rumor down...well, sort of. She told Variety while at the Critics Choice Awards, “Why does everyone keep saying that? I don’t know where this has come from ... this feels like wishful thinking to me, personally. Why on Earth would we be singing?”
She added, “People are asking me if we’re going to be singing at the Oscars. I don’t know why we would be doing that, since our song is not nominated. That doesn’t happen. I don’t know what to tell you.”
Ariana Grande Gives Us a Bit More Hope
Grande, however, when speaking to IndieWire, had a bit of a looser answer, leaving the door open way more than her co-star. “Yeah, I don’t know either,” she said coyly when interviewed by the outlet, before then admitting, “it would be really fun.”
“We will have our thermoses, our pink and green thermoses, filled with tea,” she added. “Hers will probably be rose and an English breakfast mixed together or something like that. In case, we’ll be ready, but I know nothing.”
Will There Be Performances At All?
As Variety points out, Erivo’s logic does not particularly hold up, especially because the Academy announced weeks ago that this year’s ceremony will be different in light of the tragic fires in Los Angeles. In an official statement, they revealed that they will be “moving away” from original song performances, instead opting for “personal reflections” from the songwriters themselves.
“We will celebrate their artistry through personal reflections from the teams who bring these songs to life. All of this, and more, will uncover the stories and inspiration behind this year’s nominees,” Academy members, CEO Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang shared in a statement.
That being said, it’s hard to imagine an entire telecast without a single musical performance at all. Especially when the show has one of the strongest movie musicals we’ve seen in the history of the medium nominated for best picture.
We still have a little over a week before the Oscars return, which of course, means anything could happen. In the meantime, we’ve got our eyes on the Witches of Oz (Erivo and Grande), in hopes that they give us any clues or signs as to whether or not a “Wicked” performance may in fact be a possibility still.