Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo's 'Wicked' performance was the highlight of the Oscars
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo proved their powerhouse credentials with their electrifying performance at the 2025 Oscars.
The duo kicked off the 97th Academy Awards ceremony by performing a medley of songs from Wicked and The Wizard of Oz. Grande, who received her first Oscar nomination in the Best Supporting Actress category for her role as Glinda, changed out of her Schiaparelli red-carpet dress into a glittering ruby-red ball gown – also custom-made by Schiaparelli for the occasion– for a touching rendition of 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'.
Naturally, given that Grande has been expertly method-dressing throughout the Wicked promo tour, the look featured a special nod to the Wizard of Oz world, in the form of a ruby slipper built into the back.
Afterwards, Erivo — whose performance as Elphaba earned her a nomination in the Best Actress category — walked onto stage to perform Diana Ross’ “Home,” also executing an outfit swap from her dark green Louis Vuitton gown into a floral-embellished design by Vivienne Westwood. With the grand view of the Griffith Observatory looming behind her, Erivo’s performance clearly paid tribute to Los Angeles in the aftermath of the city’s recent wildfires.
Thereafter, Grande reappeared on-stage for the duo to perform the powerful final duet from act one of Wicked: “Defying Gravity”.
Wicked achieved an impressive 10 nominations at the 2025 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. While they lost out to Anora for the biggest award of the night, Wicked took home two trophies from the ceremony; Best Production Design and Best Costume Design.
The legendary costume designer Paul Tazewell picked up the latter award, making history for being the first Black man to win for best costume design.
Director Jon M. Chu previously talked to Harper’s Bazaar about adapting the beloved Broadway production for the screen. While the story is set in the fantasy world of The Wizard of Oz, its themes and core message couldn’t be more relevant to modern audiences, he said.
“It is the most iconic fairy tale in the most iconic American medium, which is cinema, and in the most American genre, which is the musical,” Chu mused. “And we deconstruct that with a woman who’s green, who isn’t what everyone expects, as the hero of the story.”
He added: “The Wizard even says, ‘Truth is what we all believe in.’ Of course, that’s always been around and propaganda has always been around, but it’s really come into focus now, because of the power of technology, how fast information can spread, and who’s in control of that information.”
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