Lady Gaga bared all in her emotional performance at the Oscars on Sunday, stripping back and dressing down to give a raw rendition of her song Hold My Hand.
A handful of artists took to the stage during the event, with all five songs up for best original song being performed, including Rihanna’s Lift Me Up, and Naatu Naatu, which was the first song from an Indian movie to receive an Oscar nomination in the category.
But Gaga undoubtedly stole the show.
Now, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented the 2022 film nominees for the 95th Academy Awards this Sunday at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles… and what a night it was.
At the ceremony, the 23 category winners were announced, with Four awards going to German movie All Quiet on the Western Front, including Oscars for best original score, production design, cinematography, and international feature.
Best visual effects went to Avatar: The Way of Water, while Best Sound went to Top Gun: Maverick.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever won for costume design, while Navalny won for outstanding documentary film.
Pinocchio, directed by Guillermo del Toro, received the prize for best-animated feature, and Sarah Polley’s Women Talking took home the prize for best-adapted screenplay.
But arguably the most emotional part of the night was when The Whale won Brendan Fraser the award for best actor in a leading role.
However, the best-performing film had to be Everything Everywhere All at Once. It had the most 2023 Oscar nominations (11) going into the program, winning seven.
Not only did it win best picture, but it also won three acting awards for Michelle Yeoh as best leading actress, Jamie Lee Curtis as best supporting actress, and Ke Huy Quan as best supporting actor.
The movie also took home awards for best original script, best director (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), and best film editing (Paul Rogers).
While the main event was undoubtedly the awards ceremony, it was the performances by the five nominees for Best Original Song that got everyone talking.
Sofia Carson sang Diane Warren’s hit Applause from the movie, Tell It Like a Woman, while Stephanie Hsu, David Byrne, and Son Lux performed This Is a Life from EEAAO.
Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava performed Naatu Naatu from RRR, and Rihanna performed Lift Me Up from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
But Lady Gaga stole all our hearts when she came on stage bare-faced in a simple T-shirt and ripped jeans performing the song Hold My Hand from Top Gun: Maverick.
She honored late Top Gun director Tony Scott, who passed away in 2012, with a dedication to the performance, and began by sitting on a plain bench before rising to her feet as the intensity increased.
“[The song is] deeply personal for me. I think that we all need each other — we need a lot of love to walk through this life. We all need a hero sometimes. There are heroes all around us in unassuming places. But you might find that you can be your own hero — even if you feel broken inside,” she said before singing.
Immediately after the emotional rendition, she received a standing ovation from the audience, and it’s not hard to see why.
