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.