Soundtracking: Oscar's 2019 Musical Moments
Tuesday, February 11, 2020 at 10:30AM by Chris Feil
Idina Menzel's perplexed reaction shot -- we'll get to it.
This year, Oscar treated us to a more music heavy ceremony than usual. With some moments expected, some surprising, and some impromptu, the telecast had some naysayers asking “What is this?! The Grammys?!” Overall, yes, the musical numbers halted the night’s energy rather than propelled it, and that wasn’t helped by the producer’s decisions for when to have a presenter and not. But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t moments of brilliant throughout. Here’s Oscar night’s musical moments from worst to best...
11. Randy Newman “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away”
Listen, it brings me no joy to dismiss the much awarded musical icon and his sweetness, but with this performance Randy Newman made the weakest case for keeping the nominated songs on the telecast. Plus, producers just plopped him on the stage with a piano (which, by the looks of it, he wasn’t even playing?) sans production value. “I can’t let ya, I can’t let ya, I can’t let ya, I can’t let ya, I can’t let ya, [time folds in on itself]....”
10. Chrissy Metz “I’m Standing With You”
This is no fault of Metz’s, who did a perfectly fine vocal. But to add insult to this abysmal song’s injury (sorry, Diane Warren, you know I love you), this number was more funereal than a decade’s worth of In Memoriam segments. And it had the burden of being the first musical number to get no introduction whatsoever, compounding the awkwardness. Best we let this one get lost to time.
9. Eminem “Lose Yourself”
With a deep, cloud-shifting intake of breath and sudden exhale violent enough to crack the time-space continuum, I ask you: why? Of all the famous Original Song winners to play some kind of vague tribute to movie songs to (though that reel was one of the night’s best)? Apparently, it was meant as some homecoming gesture since Eminem was unable to perform the year this won - but 18 years is an odd stretch of time to make good on that, particularly for a movie with very minor lasting impact. The crowd went for it, but I guess you had to be there? Almost worth it for Idina Menzel’s perplexed reaction shot. Almost.
8. Utkarsh Ambudkar’s freestyle recap
I was somewhat taken by the Mindy Project actor and Freestyle Love Supreme member’s performance in the moment as an antidote to Eminem’s empty display, and there was a lot of welcome wit here. But serving little more than reminding us what had already won in the night can only result in a “get on with it!” response from even those of us that want the Oscars to be longer.
7. Elton John “I’m Gonna Love Me Again”
Randy Newman’s tethered, if the piano underworld was a disco cruise ship. Whereas the Oscar stage has become a breeding ground for rock star b-sides, rarely are they performed with such showmanship thirsty for a win. So I’ll take it, but none of this felt essential. The transition song at the Elton John concert between two massive hits, but still an Elton John concert.
6. Idina Menzel and the Night of a Thousand Elsas
A rushed tempo and lowered key was not going to defeat Idina Menzel, because she recruited an army of global Elsas and a cooing forest nymph to make “Into the Unknown” a success. While not the best among Frozen 2’s songs, the handoff between several of the actresses that have voiced Elsa around the globe is the kind of actress-centric spectacle we tune into the Oscar’s for.
5. Janelle Monae’s opener
I can appreciate many different perspectives on this opening number. For some, it’s insulting to use key black films like Us and Queen and Slim in a year of overwhelmingly white nominees; for others, it’s staking a claim that those films are still here and were worthy to begin with. It’s complicated reconciling the intentions with the context here, but the number has the advantage of Janelle Monáe being this generation’s foremost showstopper. Overall, I found it to be an exciting wink at and subversion of the kind of referential opening number we’ve seen many times through Oscar ceremony history. Massive bonus points for Billy Porter singing on our television screens (and giving better Elton John than Elton John).
4. Eimear Noone and the Original Score medley
Excessive to some, but we love a medley and/or montage, so your mileage may vary. Noone was the first woman to conduct an Oscar ceremony and she showed up clad in gold armor to enhance the theatrics. It’s simply nice to see the nominated original scores get the air time they have been denied in recent years. Bonus points for weaving four rather disparate scores into one seamless musical moment.
3. Billie Eilish’s “Yesterday” In Memoriam
While I had predicted Eilish’s much publicized post-Grammy triumph performance on the Oscar stage would be a reveal of her coming Bond song, this was an surprisingly uncynical choice. If “Yesterday” seems like a lyrically odd choice for In Memoriam, that was ultimately countered by Eilish’s movingly expressive vocal that nevertheless didn’t distract from those being tributed. It was so far outside of the predictable that it made this section of the telecast less mechanical than it can sometimes be.
2. Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph presenting Best Costume Design
Yes, this counts. In the awards ceremony cinematic universe of presenters doing bits, this gag of Wiig and Rudolph proving their acting worth beyond laughs ranks somewhere between Melissa McCarthy and Brian Tyree Henry’s costume display last year and Wiig and Will Ferrell’s Globes “You get outta here!!!” derailing. The night’s best medley, serving up everyone from Prince to Madonna to Sisqo.
1. Cynthia Erivo “Stand Up”
Providing all of the drama and effectively simple stagecraft that each of her co-nominees lacked on the Oscar stage, this performance was handily the night’s musical peak. We’re going to be seeing Erivo back on the Oscar stage in the future, you can bank on that. Some were less high on the song itself, but much of what made this such a successful performance was how it hid its simplistic aspects by highlighting its natural emotion.
All Soundtracking installments can be found here!
previously in 92nd Academy Awards coverage
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embroidered fashion statements (literally)
new Oscar trivia
the winner and immediate afterthoughts
Reader Comments (41)
I'm so glad you think Erivo was your top choice! I thought I'd be the only one.
Janelle was my #1. I understand that some felt it insulting she used Us and Queen and Slim when they weren't nominated for Oscars, but I personally loved seeing the Oscar show open with a tribute to A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood - a film I felt was grossly underappreciated this year - by one of my favorite singers.
So many listless performances only made me yearn more for the inclusion of Glasgow as a nominee for Best Song.
First thing. Billie Eilish was terrible. Music is music and hearing it as music she was bad. For real. Having Elton behind her suggests you don't listen to music.
Randy Newman isn't my favorite, but sitting down and playing a piano is music. Weird angle to criticize.
Eminem sounded good, and it's a great song. Just don't understand it. But behind Billie Eilish...well why would I understand the choice of Bille Eilish?
Say it. She sucked. Liking that is like that article I read that called Baby One More Time a masterpiece.
Please stop this.
Also, Janelle Monae going on about being black and queer..during the song, without ever doing anything with it...that's self-serving bullshit.
It's like I'm supposed to appreciate something because the subject is agreeable.
Co-sign Jules, I loved seeing that red sweater on Janelle Monae, and her interaction with Tom Hanks was absolutely charming. But I do admit that nobody topped Cynthia Erivo, what a talent, and what delivery.
I like your inclusion of the Costume Design award presentation here, Wiig and Rudolph with their "that's acting" routine and the reactions of directors in the audience was perfection. ( I also am a huge fan of Durran, so her win was like a bonus to their routine)
Too bad they didn't nominate better songs, how they passed on "Wild Rose" I will never understand. That Randy Newman song never should have been nominated.
The music performances were all awful, apart from the Eimar Noone and Elton John. Erivo's was serviceable.
I couldn’t agree more: it was too much music and too little cinema.
Some performances were good.
Billie Eilish was one of the worst: pretentious, boring, nothing emotional.
Eminem was unnecessary.
Please, give us less music and more cinema.
Once I heard Janelle say “it’s time to come alive, because the Oscars is all white” I knew I would love the performance. I enjoyed her taking them to task to their faces, even if it flew right over their heads. She and Cynthia had the only good musical performances of the night for me.
Chris - i also loved Billie Eilish's rendition and agree with your top 3 order though i would have been kinder to Idina Menzel's performance.
Randy Newman... i felt so bad for him but at the same time he did write that single line and then called it a "song"... but then they nomniated him for it so it's just another reminder that the music branch (of all branches) is a big ol' closed circle clique. They nominate certain people for everything (see also John Williams umpteenth nomination for star wars)
Erivo would have won the Oscar had they voted during the ceremony...and I kind of wish she had regardless.
The white dudes dancing in their seats to Loose Yourself... totally staged.
Billie was okay. She’s not the strongest singer, but sang alright and with enough poignancy that it didn’t distract from the moment for better or worse. A very simple unpretentious performance to those with ears. I don’t know much about her except hearing a couple of her songs on advertisements and seeing her on a short interview or two, but she seems okay? To have anything other than indifference or a simple “I don’t like it” is really revealing. Is it the overexposure that brings the vitriol, or more likely parts of a persons perceptions of the world, youth, women, non sexkittens, being revealed. Shrug, I just don’t See her as offensive. Just a teen being a teen.
For me, it was all downhill after Janelle Monae. What an energizing performance! You could tell the audience was eating it up as well.
No comment on Aurora, the Swedish backup singer on Idina's song? Like, why was she stuck 30 feet behind all the Elsas? It was curious staging. She sat in the front row the rest of the ceremony, and they kept showing her for some reason. (Idina herself had to sit in the second row!)
I'm not the biggest Billie Eilish fan, but to be fair, singing the In Memoriam segment is a thankless job. Personally, I'd rather have a serviceable but unmemorable performance for this segment so we can focus on those we lost in the past year.
I would pick Erivo despite the Flash Gordon look and Janelle. I guess she improvised a lot because the cameramen seemed "distracted" a couple times.
Why can we get Jane Fonda for Best Picture and Bette Midler for any song in every single telecast?
I feel that a lot of voters didn’t really know Cynthia Erivo’s work. They didn’t see “Harriet”, they didn’t see “Widows”, they didn’t see her on Broadway.
Now they know who she is, and they’ll be watching her next movie, and nominating her again.
Oof.
I wish I would get to see a good live-performance of Idina Menzel on TV. Has it ever happened? Youtube links are welcomed.
11. I am really surprised they didn't bring Forky out (digital or otherwise). I am not sure if that would make things better or worse, but I was still surprise that it didn't happen.
9. And the Eminem was clearly just a "hey guess who just expressed interest in coming to the Oscars?" thing. It was actually worth it to see them "justifying" it with their traditional random tribute to cinema clip.
8. I thought that having up-and-comers doing little things like this (or just appearing, even if to introduce another presenter) was a good use of the power of the Oscars. Utkarsh Ambudkar's rap lasted what, 2 minutes? I don't think we should be that impatient to deny a talented person 2 minutes in a celebration. The only way to increase his google hit rate even more if they put his name on the screen (which they should...)
I will never understand why Taron didn't perform. I know he campaigned hard and he was snubbed but six months ago he was totally unknown. A good performance could have led to new offers and it would have been closure too.
I have yet to see a single article that mentions how f-ed up the tempo got at the end of INTO THE UNKNOWN. I thought maybe I remembered it wrong, yup, still a major tempo screw up at the end. Idina was at least a 1/2 measure ahead of the orchestra... not the end of the world by any means, but a pretty obvious blunder that no one else seems to be mentioning.
I will be using that video of all the Elsas singing Into the Unknown with my students. They're very clearly showing off techniques I work with them on, especially when they drop their jaws and raise their cheekbones into that smile when they go for that top note. Effortless, especially Aurora who they tried like hell to hide from the telecast.
Real talk, though: they dropped the key and sped it up so Idina Menzel could sing it live. She's been doing the song in this key since D12, including the trick where she pulls the mic away on the top note in case she cracks and can blame the sound system instead of her voice. She is a talented performer, but she tends to push her voice a lot more than usual when she's just singing a song rather than performing in a show.
The music at this year's ceremony was abysmal. Cynthia Erivo was one of the absolute worst for me. The song was boring. The performance was lackluster. Billie Eilish sounded decent, but I was turned off when the gang of red carpet snobs (the emaciated Ranid and witless Seacrest) kept fawning over her Chanel pillowtop bedspread.
Erivo SLAYED. Her talents are wasted in anything non-musical IMHO.
I never saw Wild Rose, but man Glasgow should have been nominated especially after hearing it performed on the BAFTAs.
And this past weekend, I also caught The Peanut Butter Falcon. The closing credit song of that movie would have been a worthy nominee from a popular movie as well. Though it didn't have the names of Newman, Warren behind it.
"Plus, producers just plopped him on the stage with a piano... sans production value."
The clouds don't count as production value? Why?
"Bonus points for weaving four rather disparate scores into one seamless musical moment."
... Four? Which one are you excluding here?
Janelle Monae showed more star quality than anyone else on stage all night, musical or otherwise. Cynthia Erivo was a close second. Love them both.
I also liked the statement she made kicking off the show: Nominations or not, we're here, we're not going anywhere. Get used to it.
Beautiful Ghosts should have been there.
OK, am I the only one with any common sense here over the fact that Billie Ellish mumbled throughout that song?
Seriously, I don't think she even knows that song as she just mumbled through. Is that the new thing nowadays? You kids have gotten stupid.
Elton and Cynthia Erivo were great. Randy and Eminem were alright. I didn't see Janelle Monae. The rest was... eh....
And stop supporting hack songwriters like Diane Warren. Her songs are crap and all she does is represent mediocrity.
RE: Randy Newman. I never thought the day would come when his name is paired with the word "sweetness."
@ thevoid99
She didn't exactly mumble, but that was definitely a grungy emo vocal and she fucked up the lyrics in the second verse.
I'm surprise of the comments about Eminem. We don't arguee most times the lack of diversity in the Oscars?
The academy is very fussy with the music genres that nominate and avoide "hard" styles (progressive, hard rock, gothic, etc.) and prefer songs with a Broadway style. Lose Yourself is a very good song and i appreciate they have include it.
overheard at oscars planning meeting: "people say we're not inclusive, we'll show 'em. let's get a rapper....but a white one, 'cause, you know..."
Erivo was magical. HIstorically, live performances in award shows and at the Oscars in particular are out of tune, even for the best of performers. Erivo was not only pitch-perfect, she elevated the song, captivated the audience, and served her movie.
My favourite Oscars Randy Newman performance? "When she loved me" from Toy Story, sung by Sarah McLachlan. I am still moved to tears today.
Janelle Monáe is of another world, another universe with that electric performance. Man, can she hit those top notes without effort. I remembered watching her live in concert and after one high-octane number after another, she came out to do 5-6 songs during encore and you thought she was just warming up. Love the visual cues to Midsommar, Queen & Slim and Little Women.
Cynthia Erivo is equal to Monáe's talents but the song itself wasn't memorable. I would have liked Erivo to do one hair-raising moment like that lean-forward bow she did in "The Color Purple" before releasing that cathartic "I am here" magic (one of the best Broadway shows I watched).
Erivo slayyyyyyyed. Turned me into a fan.
And I thought Billie performing the In Memoriam was not only very beautifully done, but extremely clever.. they never announced her as performing that segment, they merely announced her as a performer, which obviously brought some young folks to the telecast who wouldn't have watched otherwise, and also kept people intrigued, thinking she'd perform the new Bond theme, only to reveal she was singing the tribute to the deceased. I thought it was really smart.
Also, read the comments AFTER i posted mine and am reminded of why I never do anymore lol. *shudders* The internet is full of Bitter Bettys. You can have any opinion without putting so much negativity out into the world.
Yikes. I hope y'all get hugged more, asap.
It's funny to me when people try to tear down celebrities... they're only humans who are trying, and lest we forget, they're trying much harder than you are. Sitting at your keyboard talking shit because you feel insecure about your own life is really easy to do; singing a song at the Oscars at 18 years-old is not.
Erivo reminds me of a young Streisand...so much charisma, knows how to interpret a song from the actor's perspective, and great voice! My top choice as well.
I agree Taron should have performed.
I'd put Monae and Eminem (no idea why he performed, but he did a good job with a great song) at the top of the list with Erivo and Ambudkar close behind. Most of the rest was pretty dull. Elton John has a tendency to get on my nerves so I'd put him and Metz (she was fine but gah such a bad song) and Eilish at the bottom. Like some others here I just don't click with what others see in Eilish.
I put this on the podcast thread but I'll repeat here, re: Eminem:
Nothing said "generational change in the Academy" better than watching Anthony Ramos, Kelly Marie Tran and Zazie Beetz sing along to every lyric.
INTO THE UNKOWN rhythm? Anyone? Am I nuts?