OSCARS
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Written By D.L. Chandler , Senior Editor Posted 11 mins ago @dlchandler123 D.L. Chandler is a veteran of the Washington D.C. metro writing scene, working as a journalist, reporter, and culture critic. Initially freelancing at iOne Digital in 2010, he officially joined the iOne team in 2017 where he currently works as a Senior Editor […]
The 2023 Academy Awards took over Hollywood on Sunday night (March 12) with star-studded musical offerings by Rihanna, Lady Gaga and more for the best original song performances by the nominees.
The Super Bowl Halftime Show performer hit the stage in a custom Maison Margiela Artisanal outfit designed especially for her by John Galliano for the live debut of the Oscar-nominated “Lift Me Up,” one of her two offerings on the soundtrack to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Meanwhile, Mother Monster took the opposite route by stripping down to a simple black tee, ripped jeans and a makeup-free face for her last-minute performance of “Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick. “It’s deeply personal for me, and I think that we all need each other,” she said prior to launching into the song as the camera zoomed in for the closest of close-ups on her face. “We need a lot of love to walk through this life. And we all need a hero sometimes, there’s heroes all around us in unassuming places. But you might find that you can be your own hero, even if you feel broken inside.”
Elsewhere during the ceremony, 14-time nominee Diane Warren accompanied Sofia Carson through “Applause” from the anthology film Tell It Like a Woman, and eventual best original song winner “Naatu Naatu” from RRR became the biggest song-and-dance spectacle of the evening led by Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava.
Plus David Byrne teamed up with best supporting actress nominee Stephanie Hsu and Son Lux for a trippy, cerebral take on “This Is a Life” from fan favorite Everything Everywhere All at Once — giant hot dog fingers included.
Besides the performances of the best original song nominees, Lenny Kravitz soundtracked this year’s In Memoriam segment with his 2004 single “Calling All Angels.”
Watch each of the performances at the 2023 Oscars below.
In between jokes about the infamous Will Smith Oscars 2022 slap, returning host Jimmy Kimmel squeezed in a jab at Nick Cannon‘s large number of children during his opening monologue at this year’s Academy Awards. And shortly after the ceremony wrapped, the Masked Singer host himself reacted to the callout, which he though was all in good fun.
“I heard about that,” Cannon told TMZ as he was leaving a restaurant Sunday night (March 12). “It’s hilarious. I created Wild N’ Out — I can hear jokes all day long.”
The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host effortlessly looped in a joke at Cannon’s headling-making fertility rate — the Drumline star is a father to 12 children, eight of which were born within a two-year span — by mentioning that one of the night’s nominated films, Avatar: The Way of Water, cost Disney two billion dollars to make. “Just to break even, all of Nick Cannon’s kids had to see Avatar four times,” Kimmel quipped.
There’s no hard feelings between the two men, though. “Kimmel’s my man,” Cannon added.
The former America’s Got Talent host first became a dad when he welcomed twins with his megastar ex-wife Mariah Carey in 2011. In the years following the couple’s 2014 split, he had 10 more babies with five other women: Brittany Bell, Abby De La Rosa, Bre Tiesi, LaNisha Cole and Alyssa Scott.
Many have wondered if and when Cannon will put an end to his oats-sowing, including the female TMZ reporter who closed their Sunday night chat by asking if he planned on putting a cap on his child count — not that she got a real answer to the question. “I don’t know. Whatchu doing later?” he joked, laughing slyly as he closed his car door.
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On a standout night for the Academy Awards, Ruth E. Carter became the first Black woman to win two Oscars for her work on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
At the 95th Academy Awards held on Sunday night (March 12th), the iconic costume designer won the Oscar for Best Costume Design for her work on the smash Black Panther sequel film. After accepting the award from presenters Paul Dano and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Carter began her speech by dedicating the award to her late mother, who she revealed passed away at the age of 101.
“Thank you for recognizing the superhero that is a Black woman. She endures. She loves. She overcomes. She is every woman in this film. She is my mother. This past week Mable Carter became an ancestor. This film prepared me for this moment,” she said.
Carter mentioned the late Chadwick Boseman next, asking him to “please take care” of her mother. She continued, thanking director Ryan Coogler and executive producer Nate Moore: “Thank you both for your vision. Together, we are reshaping how culture is represented.” She would close by thanking those at Marvel Studios and the “many dedicated artists whose hands and hearts helped manifest the costumes of Wakanda and Talokan.”
The win made Carter the first Black woman to win multiple Oscar awards – she previously won for her work on the first Black Panther in 2019. She also became part of a premium category of multiple Academy Award winners in competitive categories who are Black, joining actors Denzel Washington and Mahershala Ali and sound mixers Willie D. Burton and Russell Williams II. The 62-year-old has enjoyed an illustrious career, having been previously nominated for her work on Spike Lee’s Malcolm X and Steven Spielberg’s Amistad.
She reflected on her win and her career to reporters backstage after receiving the award. ” I wanted to be a costume designer,” she began.”I studied. I scraped. I dealt with adversity in the industry that sometimes didn’t look like me and I endured. I feel that this win opens the door for other young costume designers that may not think that this industry is for them and hopefully they’ll see me, and they’ll see my story and they’ll think they can win an Oscar, too.”
The 2023 Oscars has officially come and gone. Celebrities, actresses and musicians attended the 95th annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday night (March 12) to celebrate and honor the most talked about movies released within the past year, and of course, the ceremony included performances by best original song nominees Rihanna, Lady Gaga and more.
Ri took the stage in a stunning Maison Margiela Artisanal look — black pants and black bra with dazzling rhinestones parading down the length of her baby bump — to give “Lift Me Up” from the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack its live debut. The track marked the pop star’s first Oscar nomination, alongside Tems, Ryan Coogler and Ludwig Göransson. The singer delivered a soaring performance of the song accompanied by a backing choir, imbuing the live rendition with as much emotion — if not more — than the original recording.
After initially declining to perform at the telecast, Gaga surprised fans by taking the stage for “Hold My Hand” from the Top Gun: Maverick soundtrack. The Academy Award winner — who performed makeup-free and in a casual outfit — began the set with a few words. “I wrote this song with my friend BloodPop for the film Top Gun: Maverick in my studio basement,” she began. “There’s heroes all around us, in unassuming places, but you might find that you can be your own hero even if you feel broken inside.”
David Byrne with Stephanie Hsu and Son Lux; Sofia Carson with Diane Warren; Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava; and Lenny Kravitz also performed at the Oscars. Which performance was your favorite? Vote in our poll below.
As Waymond Wang famously says in Everything Everywhere All At Once, “Please, be kind. Especially when we don’t know what’s going on.”
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (aka “The Daniels”) certainly took that advice from their character when they accepted the award for best directing at the 2023 Oscars on Sunday (March 12). Dedicating the award to “all the mommies of the world,” Scheinert especially thanked his parents for supporting his passion throughout his life. “Thank you for not squashing my creativity when I was making really disturbing horror films, or really perverted comedy films, or dressing in drag as a kid, which is a threat to nobody.”
That final comment seemed to come as a shot at Tennessee lawmakers, who earlier this month passed a law banning drag performances from taking place on public property, claiming drag posed a threat to children. While Tennessee became the first state to enact such a ban, a number of other states — including North Dakota, Texas, West Virigina, Nebraska and South Carolina — are currently advancing similar legislation.
The Daniels were the big winners at Sunday night’s telecast, as Everything Everywhere All At Once took home a whopping seven awards out of the 11 it was nominated for, including best picture, best direction, best original screenplay, best film editing, and three of the four major acting awards (best actress for Michele Yeoh, best supporting actor for Ke Huy Quan and best supporting actress for Jamie Lee Curtis).
Check out the Daniels’ full speech following their best directing win at the 2023 Oscars above.
The Oscars were a family affair for Rihanna. At her side throughout the Sunday night (March 12) awards show was A$AP Rocky, who was captured cradling the “Umbrella” singer’s baby bump in an adorable backstage moment.
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The couple — currently expecting baby No. 2 — posed for a few photos backstage shortly after Ri finished performing her Wakanda Forever track, “Lift Me Up,” which was nominated for best original song. The Fenty Beauty founder looked characteristically glamorous in a mint green skirt and shawl combo that left her growing bump bare and on display.
In a couple of the photos, Rocky — dapper in a white tuxedo jacket — giggles into his partner’s ear as he wraps one hand around her waist and the other around her belly.
ASAP Rocky and Rihanna backstage at the 95th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre on March 12, 2023 in Hollywood, California.
Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/GI
The only family member missing from the snapshot was the couple’s 10-month-old son, who was probably sound asleep given that the three-hour ceremony lasted until about 11:30 p.m. ET. Rocky and Rihanna welcomed their first child in May last year, about nine months before the “Rude Boy” musician would wordlessly announce her second pregnancy by debuting her unmistakable baby bump during her Super Bowl Halftime Show performance in February.
Rihanna looked equally stunning onstage at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre while performing “Lift Me Up,” which she delivered on an elevated stage in a dress dripping with diamonds. Though the best original song statuette went to “Naatu Naatu” from RRR, the makeup mogul still got to celebrate her first ever Academy Award nomination while honoring late Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman.
Check out Rihanna’s Oscars performance below:
The Oscars might be the film world’s biggest night, but this year, music was front and center too.
The best original song nominations and Academy Awards performers included two of the biggest pop stars in the world in Rihanna and Lady Gaga, not to mention previous winner David Byrne, Diane Warren up for a 14th time, and Golden Globe victors (and eventual 2023 Oscar champs) M. M. Keeravani and Chandrabose. We also had Lenny Kravitz soundtracking the “in memoriam” segment, Austin Butler nominated for playing rock legend Elvis Presley, and Halle Bailey introducing the first trailer for Disney’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.
It was only confirmed earlier Sunday that Gaga would sing her nominated song “Hold My Hand,” and her onstage intro explained why she decided to perform after all. “I wrote this song with my friend BloodPop for the film Top Gun: Maverick in my studio basement,” she said. “It’s deeply personal for me, and I think that we all need each other. We need a lot of love to walk through this life, and we all need a hero sometimes. There’s heroes all around us, in unassuming places, but you might find that you can be your own hero even if you feel broken inside.”
But beyond what you saw onscreen, Billboard was inside Hollywood’s Dolby Theater on Sunday night (March 12) and at the Governors Ball afterparty to cover all the action in person, and we’ve rounded up seven music moments the cameras didn’t catch — and one moment the in-person crowd missed.
A Round of ‘Applause’ for Hollywood Magic
Image Credit: Rich Polk
The first performance of the night was from 14-time nominee Diane Warren, who accompanied singer Sofia Carson on the song “Applause” from the anthology film Tell It Like a Woman. The performance was introduced by Woman star Cara Delevingne, but what the TV audience couldn’t see while the actress was onscreen was that a full production was being set up on the stage, including Warren’s grand piano, a string section and a full choir. It all looked like a well-oiled machine when an elegant Carson sauntered onstage in an ethereal cape dress, but a lot went into the brisk two-minute performance. When the show cut to commercial break, Warren took a small bow and got a lot of love from the Academy audience — which clearly loves the celebrated songwriter.
‘Everything’ Out of Nowhere All at Once
The Oscars’ secret weapon on Sunday night was a multi-leveled, dynamic stage that allowed a lot of varied setups without a lot of chaos visible to the in-house audience. The best deployment of the stage was for David Byrne, Son Lux and Stephanie Hsu’s performance of the nominated Everything Everywhere All at Once song “This Is a Life.” The performers started out below the stage and then all of a sudden, they rose up from the depths along with the band’s instruments and a troupe of white-clad dancers, adding to the overall surprise factor of the offbeat song.
Not ‘Part of Your World’
Image Credit: Rich Polk
The audience was very excited when Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy came out to present a brand-new trailer for the live-action Little Mermaid remake — but that excitement soon fizzled when Bailey informed the Dolby crowd that the musical preview wouldn’t be shown in the theater. Apparently, the VIP crowd didn’t get all the perks of the night.
Gaga’s Band Lovefest
Lady Gaga kept things simple for a last-minute performance of her nominated song “Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick, wearing a T-shirt, jeans and sneakers with no makeup for the mostly unplugged jam session. She stuck around onstage once the show went to commercial break and gave all four members of her band hugs as the crowd gave her a standing ovation. Then she blew the audience a kiss, waved and rushed backstage to get back into glam for her category to be announced.
Baby On Board
The Oscars crew wasn’t leaving anything to chance for Rihanna’s performance, for which the pop superstar had to make her way to the stage in the dark while Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star Danai Gurira introduced her. Before Rihanna performed “Lift Me Up,” she was accompanied by a half-dozen crew members to center stage, likely taking extra care since she’s currently expecting her second baby with A$AP Rocky, as revealed during last month’s Super Bowl halftime show. And when she wrapped up, the half-dozen assistants were back with flashlights to lead her backstage.
A Light Moment for Lenny
Lenny Kravitz soundtracked the night’s “in memoriam” tribute with a subdued performance of “Calling All Angels” appropriate for the gravity of the segment. What fans at home didn’t see, though, is once the tribute ended in complete silence and Kravitz got the all-clear that the show had gone to commercial break, he stood up and gave the crowd a big wave and a smile. While the “in memoriam” segment is never really about the performer, it was nice to see Lenny get some love for the set.
Some Accessories for the Afterparty
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Coming out on top over all the star power in the best original song category were M. M. Keeravaani and Chandrabose, who wrote the song “Naatu Naatu” for the blockbuster Indian film RRR. After a high-energy performance and a Carpenters-inspired acceptance speech, Billboard spotted the duo arriving triumphantly to the Oscars Governors Ball afterparty, each holding an Oscar and ready to get their hardware engraved inside.
You can’t have an Oscar telecast without Snubs & Surprises. It’s an unwritten law. This year, mercifully, the surprises had nothing to do with bad behavior or mishandled envelopes, but simply with awards outcomes that not everyone saw coming.
Jimmy Kimmel hosted the 95th Oscars, which were held Sunday (March 12) at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. Everything Everywhere All at Once was the top winner, with seven Oscars.
EEAAO became only the third film – and the first in nearly 50 years – to win three acting Oscars. The first two, both classics, were A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) and Network (1976). The film’s star, Michelle Yeoh, won best actress, while Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis took the supporting awards.
“The Daniels” – Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert – won three Oscars on Sunday (March 12) for co-producing, co-writing and co-directing the buzzy film. This marks just the second time in Oscar history that two people have shared three awards on Oscar night. Joel and Ethan Coen won Oscars for serving in the same capacities 15 years ago for No Country for Old Men.
For the second year in a row, all four of the acting winners – Brendan Fraser, Yeoh, Quan and Curtis – had previously won at the SAG Awards. This is the eighth time in the past 14 years that all four Oscar winners had won at the SAG Awards, a surprisingly high rate of agreement.
Here are some of the more notable snubs and surprises from Oscar night 2023.
Snub: Austin Butler
Even though Brendan Fraser won the SAG Award last month, many expected Austin Butler to win the Oscar for best actor. It was a star-making performance. Moreover, Lisa Marie Presley’s shocking death just as awards season was heating up seemed to be a factor that might weigh in his favor. People would want to see Butler pay tribute to not only Elvis, but his daughter, who was on hand to see Butler win best actor in a drama at the Golden Globes on Jan. 10. She died two days later.
Surprise: The Whale
The Whale was a polarizing movie. Many were moved by it, but others harshly dismissed it. Still, it was one of only three multiple Oscar winners this year, with its two wins trailing only Everything Everywhere All at Once (with seven wins) and All Quiet on the Western Front (with two).
Snub: The Banshees of Inisherin
The acclaimed film was shut out despite nine nominations. Other films with six or more nominations that didn’t win any awards are Elvis (eight nods), The Fabelmans (seven), and Tár (six).
Snub: Rihanna and Lady Gaga
The Oscars had nominated songs – and performances on the telecast – by two of the hottest female music stars on the planet, but Oscar voters gave their best original song award to “Naatu Naatu” from RRR. The joyous song was a highlight of the telecast, but it is rather remarkable that it beat back songs from such high-powered competition.
Snub: Steven Spielberg and John Williams
They are far and away the most successful director and composer in movie history. Both were top contenders for The Fabelmans, but neither went home with an Oscar. Williams is 91 and Spielberg is 76, so this might be their final collaboration, but let’s hope not.
Snub (Sort of): Angela Bassett
Bassett was nominated for best supporting actress for Black Panther: Wakanada Forever, but lost to Jamie Lee Curtis for Everything Everywhere All at Once. Curtis had also prevailed at the SAG Awards. Even so, some thought Bassett would prevail here, for a couple of reasons. Bassett was nominated previously, for 1993’s What’s Love Got to Do With It, so she was more “overdue” than Curtis, who was a first-time nominee. And no Black actresses were nominated for best actress, even though two were very much in the conversation – Viola Davis for The Woman King and Danielle Deadwyler in Till.
Snub (But Not Really): Diane Warren
Warren lost in the best original song category for the 14th time when “Applause” from Tell It Like a Woman lost to “Naatu Naatu.” Warren has yet to win. But you can’t really call that a snub. Warren said it best in talking with Billboard after the nominations were announced: “I joke around that I’ve lost 13 times, but I haven’t. I’ve won 13 times. The fact that my peers who are the best of the best in music and movies in the world have chosen songs of mine all these times is a giant win in itself.”
Lady Gaga was full of surprises when she appeared at the 2023 Oscars, delivering an unexpected performance and offering a helping hand to an unfortunate photographer.
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Proving her Mother Monster instincts are strong, Gaga was first to the scene when, while walking the red carpet, a photog appeared to take a tumble.
Footage shared by Access Hollywood shows the “Poker Face” star taking a sharp left turn for the guest, then heading over to check on his condition. After exchanging some words, Gaga appears to give the man a clean bill of health, adjusts her game face and rejoins the party.
It was just another moment in a big day for Gaga, who wasn’t initially expected to a big part of the Oscars, where her song “Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick was nominated for best original song.
Earlier, Oscars executive producer and showrunner Glenn Weiss stated that Gaga would not be performing, due to the demands of her co-starring role in the Joker: Folie à Deux, which is currently shooting.
Surprise! Gaga did hit the stage for a stripped-down rendition of the action-film anthem.
“I wrote this song with my friend BloodPop for the film Top Gun: Maverick in my studio basement,” she said at the top of her performance. “It’s deeply personal for me, and I think that we all need each other. We need a lot of love to walk through this life, and we all need a hero sometimes. There’s heroes all around us, in unassuming places, but you might find that you can be your own hero even if you feel broken inside.”
There was another surprise to come when the award went to “Naatu Naatu” from RRR, with music by M. M. Keeravani and lyrics by Chandrabose.
Gaga previously won the Oscar for best original song at the 2019 Academy Awards, for her Hot 100-topping Bradley Cooper duet “Shallow” from A Star Is Born.
Watch Gaga’s red carpet assist below.