Every year I wait excitedly for the Academy Awards to happen in February and this year was no different! It’s always a night that’s marked by elegance, talent, gratitude, and of course a surprise or two! If you didn’t have a chance to watch the awards this year or just want to stroll down memory lane already, check out my top 5 memorable moments from this year’s Oscar’s!
1: Performance from Disney’s Moana
A great moment for fans of Hamilton and Disney alike, the performance of the Oscar nominated song “How Far I’ll Go” from Moana was one I rewatched a few times after the awards. With an intro by the always wonderful Lin Manuel-Miranda in his signature rap style, this performance didn’t miss a beat. The voice of Moana, 16-year old Auli’i Cravalho, performed with such grace and poise, that even when one of the background dancers accidentally hit her with a flag she didn’t lose composure for even a minute! Her power and confidence shone through the screen during the whole performance.
Photo credit: KEVIN WINTER/GETTY IMAGES
2: Viola Davis wins!
In a wonderful moment of Viola Davis finally winning her Oscar – and becoming the first black actress to win an Emmy, Oscar, and Tony – the deserving actress gave an incredibly impassioned speech that left my roommates and I all speechless. The gratitude she felt was palpable even on the opposite coast of the United States. If you haven’t seen the speech yet, make sure you go look it up, but don’t forget to grab a few tissues before pressing play.
Photo Credits: International Business Times
3: Tour Bus Surprise
Around the middle of the show, Jimmy Kimmel announced that a group of tour bus passengers were going to unknowingly enter the Oscars. It’s still not clear to me why they decided to do this, but seeing these every day, ordinary people ogle over the crowd of stars was a fun intermission from the awards. Can you imagine thinking you were just going on a tour, but then ending it by meeting Ryan Gosling and Denzel Washington?!
Photo Credit: US Weekly
4: “In Memoriam” Segment
The “In Memoriam” part of the shows occurs every year, but this year I felt like it had a stronger impact. So many influential and outstanding stars unfortunately have passed away since last year’s Oscar’s ceremony and this was a beautiful tribute to them. With the pitch-perfect Sara Bareilles performing a tear-jerking rendition of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” during the slideshow, I’m sure there wasn’t a dry eye anywhere in the theater.
Photo Credit: Yahoo Music!
5: And the Oscar goes to…
You’ve probably heard about this – the ultimate twist ending – by now! When the award for Best Picture was announced it originally was said to go La La Land. As usual, the cast and crew got up on stage and started their acceptance speeches. However, there was a commotion in the background and it was announced that Moonlight had actually won the biggest award of the night! The wrong card had been brought out and announced on accident, which caused the mix up. The surprise ended this year’s Academy Awards in a way that I’m sure everyone will be talking about until next year.
Photo Credit: US Weekly
Cover Photo Credit: Playbuzz