The 97th Oscars: Performances in Review
Discussing the three performances at the 97th Academy Awards. What worked and what didn't?
The Oscar performances were quite creative this year as far as curating the right songs to open the show and taking a dare for certain tributes. Here’s a quick break down of the performances of the 97th annual Academy Awards.
The Celebration of Oz Opening
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande opened the Oscars with an Oz medley. It was a melodic tribute to The Wizard of Oz, The Wiz & Wicked. Ariana sang an angelic version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Cynthia sang “Home” from The Wiz. The women brought it all together with their epic duet “Defying Gravity.” I loved this opening performance.
I loved the individual performance, but also the emotional chemistry of the women. The medley was pulling everything together. Kudos to the producers who thought of blending the magic behind the Oz universe.
The James Bond tribute
I’ve heard that Amazon acquired the James Bond creative rights, but I didn’t think a tribute was coming. Margaret Qualley performed a slick dance routine to open it up. I knew Lisa, Doja Cat, and Raye were on a song together. Having them each sing a Bond song was a dare.
Lisa sung a quick of “Live and Let Die.” Doja was in her element singing “Diamonds are Forever.” Raye ended with “Skyfall.” The women gave some safe performances. Fans got to see Doja as this “glamorous” performer outside of rap.
I’d give them a B, because while the songs flowed concisely. Raye’s arrangement was a little off. It’s clear they typecasted Raye to sing Adele’s song ‘cause she’s English also. Raye is a singer, but not for this type of record. Raye’s singing style doesn’t match the melody of the song. “Skyfall” happened to be sung the same way she did earlier at the Grammys.
The Quincy Jones tribute
Here we go from a Grammy tribute to an Oscar one.
Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah gave statements about his timeless artistry, as a composer and producer (sans Michael Jackson apparently.) So, I expected maybe a medley of his compositions. Instead, we have Queen Latifah singing “Ease on Down the Road” - another song from The Wiz. Need I else mention that “Ease on Down the Road” was written by a different black man named Charlie Smalls.
Now, I love Queen Latifah, but I think Quincy Jones needed more people in this tribute. They should’ve switched the length of the Bond tribute to his tribute.
What’s also irritating is that they have an orchestra available. They could’ve easily played a medley of Quincy's best compositions with a slideshow.
Overall, I liked the majority of what I got from the performances. I think the producers focused on what they wanted for ratings. That explains having Oscar nominees perform from Wicked and also getting popular stars.
I felt some hidden disrespect shown for Quincy Jones, the same way the Grammys did for Babyface. Anyway, you can watch the clips online to share your opinion.
Thanks for reading.