Here Are All the Live Musical Performances From the 2018 Oscars - Paste Magazine

Here Are All the Live Musical Performances From the 2018 Oscars

The 2018 Oscars were one for the books, with Best Picture going to Guillermo Del Toro’s film about trans-species love, The Shape of Water, and Jordan Peele becoming the first black screenwriter to win Best Original Screenplay. Now that the dust has settled, we’d like to take a moment to recognize all the talent seen last night in each of the show’s six musical interludes, from Mary J. Blige’s soul-clenching performance to Gael Garcia Bernal’s delicate introduction to “Remember Me,” the song that would end up taking home the trophy for Best Original Song. Here are all of the live musical performances from the 2018 Academy Awards—enjoy.

Mary J. Blige – “Mighty River,” Mudbound

One of the biggest moments of the night by far, Blige’s performance was outstanding. What else is to be expected from the soul queen herself? The musician turned to acting and was nominated for two Oscars (Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Song) for the Dee Rees-directed feature Mudbound. The main track from the film, “Mighty River,” was co-written by Blige alongside Raphael Saadiq and Taura Stinson.

Andra Day, Common – “Stand Up for Something,” Marshall

Co-written by Chicago rapper Common and songwriter Diane Warren, “Stand Up for Something” was the lead track from the soundtrack to the biopic of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. The rapper began the performance with a spoken-word portion that paved the way for Andra Day’s powerful voice to deliver a heartfelt call to action.

Gael Garcia Bernal, Miguel and Natalia LaFourcade – “Remember Me,” Coco

The Oscar for Best Original Song this year went to songwriting duo and married couple Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. The team behind hit Frozen song “Let It Go” came back one more time to win the Oscar for the Disney-Pixar movie Coco. Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal delicately delivered the introduction to the award-winning single before being joined by R&B singer Miguel and Mexican songstress Natalie LaFourcade, backed by a string of guitars and Mexican-folkloric dancers.

Keala Settle – “This Is Me,” The Greatest Showman

Maori-American singer and actor Keala Settle delivered a moving performance of “This Is Me,” the signature song from The Greatest Showman. Settle stars in the film as Lettie Lutz. The song, which was co-written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, did not win an award last night. However, it did win a Golden Globe for Best Original Song Earlier this year. The duo responsible for the song also won a Tony for their contributions to La La Land.

Sufjan Stevens, St. Vincent, Chris Thile, Moses Sumney, Casey Foubert and James McAlister – “Mystery of Love,” Call Me By Your Name

Sufjan Stevens wrote two songs for the feature film Call Me By Your Name, “Visions of Gideon” and “Mystery of Love,” and the latter was nominated for an Academy Award. Stevens performed the song from the Luca Guadagnino-directed feature’s soundtrack alongside St Vincent, Moses Sumney and Chris Thile, among others. The group made a striking entrance as they rose from the ground during the opening notes of the song.

Eddie Vedder – “Room at the Top” (Tom Petty cover, In Memoriam)

Finally, Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder took to the stage to honor those in the film industry who passed away in 2017. Notable celebrities who were lost included names like Chuck Berry, Jerry Lewis and former James Bond star Roger Moore.

See the complete list of winners from last night’s Oscars here, plus Paste’s list of the funniest Oscars tweets here.

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