Here are the Best Song performances from the 2021 Academy Awards pre-show
This year, either because ABC really wanted to streeeetch out its viewership numbers by an extra two hours or because the actual event will be so tightly packed with good stuff that there will be no time for anything else, the Academy Awards bumped the usual performances from the Best Song nominees to a pre-show event with slightly lower-key red carpet interviews and reasonably charming vamping from Ariana DeBose and Lil Rel Howery (who had to be prompted by Chloé Zhao when they came back from a commercial break, which was fun). But we’re not here for reasonably charming vamping, we’re here for the musical performances, which you can see below without having to sit through an hour and a half of interviews.
First, here’s Molly Sanden performing “Húsavík” from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga with a group of rosy-cheeked children:
Here are Diane Warren and Laura Pausini performing “io sì (seen)” from The Life Ahead:
Here are Celeste and Daniel Pemberton performing “Hear My Voice” from The Trial Of The Chicago 7:
Here’s Leslie Odom Jr. with “Speak Now” from One Night In Miami:
And here’s H.E.R. who closed out the pre-show performances with “Fight For You” from Judas And The Black Messiah: