Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo opened the 97th Academy Awards on March 2, 2025, with a medley moving from The Wizard of Oz to The Wiz and Wicked. Grande began with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” Erivo followed with “Home,” and they closed together with “Defying Gravity.”
What songs did Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo sing?
- Ariana Grande: “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” from The Wizard of Oz.
- Cynthia Erivo: “Home,” associated with Diana Ross and the 1978 film The Wiz.
- Grande and Erivo together: “Defying Gravity,” from Wicked.
ABC’s Good Morning America recap described Grande in a sparkling red gown and reported that the audience gave the performers a standing ovation. The Associated Press independently confirmed the song sequence.
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When and where was the performance?
The medley opened the 97th Oscars on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. The Academy announced Grande and Erivo as performers on February 24. Its announcement said ABC would broadcast the ceremony live and Hulu would stream it live.
The Academy’s 2025 ceremony page lists Erivo as a lead-actress nominee and Grande as a supporting-actress nominee for Wicked. Their roles as nominees provide context for their prominence at the ceremony; the opening medley itself was not a nominated original-song performance.
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- translucent pearly white vinyl, gatefold jacket, printed die-cut inner sleeve, 16-page 12x12" booklet featuring lyrics and photos
What did the choreographer say about the staging?
Choreographer Mandy Moore told the Associated Press that she wanted the focus to stay on the singers: “It’s everything you want it to be. It’s simple. It’s them. It’s their voices and it’s just them as artists, you know? And I will say, I just got out of the way,” she laughs. “I just told them where to stand on stage and do their thing.”
Is the Oscars medley on the Wicked soundtrack?
Universal Music Canada announced Wicked: The Soundtrack for release on November 22, 2024, with Erivo performing as Elphaba and Grande as Glinda. The release was offered on CD, double vinyl, double picture disc, and digitally. That announcement describes the film soundtrack, not a recording of the Oscars medley; the available information does not establish that the live ceremony performance is included.
Rank #2
- Released: 2019-12-06...
- Format: Vinyl...
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Watch the performance
ABC listed an official clip of the performance on March 3, 2025. The video listing is available through ABC News.
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Rank #4
- Positions is the sixth studio album by Ariana Grande, released in 2020 on Republic Records
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