The 2024 Oscars brought the Kenergy and then some to the 96th annual Academy Awards on Sunday, March 10, with all five tunes that were nominated for best original song getting the live performance treatment on stage at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles.
Before Barbie hit “What Was I Made For?” by nine-time Grammy winner Billie Eilish and Finneas ultimately took home the trophy, the sister-brother duo delivered a delicate and emotional performance of the song. As the set wrapped, the in-house got on its feed to give Eilish and Finneas a standing ovation — including Barbie director Greta Gerwig and stars Margot Robbie, America Ferrera and Kate McKinnon.
Ryan Gosling, who was nominated for best supporting actor for portraying Ken in Barbie, offered up a star-studded, show-stealing performance of his power ballad “I’m Just Ken.” Dressed in a sparkly Barbie-pink suit, the actor’s set included surprise appearances by Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash on guitar, as well as Wolfgang Van Halen, with fellow Ken dolls Simu Liu and Kingsley Ben-Adir dancing with him. The actor also gave his mic to several of his costars, including Robbie and Ferrera, as well as La La Land costar and the night’s best actress winner, Emma Stone.
Becky G set the stage on fire with her fiery performance of “The Fire Inside” — penned by 15-time Oscar nominee Diane Warren — from Flamin’ Hot. Like Eilish and Finneas, she, too, received a standing ovation.
Other performances of the night included Jon Batiste revisiting love stories with his live take of “It Never Went Away” from American Symphony, a powerful set — which included a drum circle — by Scott George and The Osage Singers of “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” from Killers of the Flower Moon,” as well as a heart-wrenching delivery of “Time to Say Good-Bye (Con Te Partirò)” by Andrea Bocelli and Matteo Bocelli during the In Memoriam segment.
Revisit all of the performances of the songs nominated for the best original song Oscar below: