Janelle Monae & Billy Porter Open the 2020 Oscars With Musical Medley (VIDEO)
The Oscars once again were host-less, but the audience — at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles and watching from home — were treated to a show-stopping number at the start of the show.
Janelle Monae kicked off the night and her opening performance with a tribute to Mr. Rogers and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood in a red cardigan and on a set that was very reminiscent of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. She even put her hat on Tom Hanks.
She was then joined by dancers and Pose‘s Billy Porter for a number (and in costumes) that honored the awards show’s nominees and the past year in film. As the performance moved from stage to the audience, she even encouraged those sitting in the first rows to sing along.
After, Chris Rock and Steve Martin took the stage, and Rock immediately joked, “While we were backstage watching this, Steve says to me, ‘J.Lo’s killing it two weeks in a row.'” Martin then noted that they’d been demoted after hosting before, and Rock blamed Twitter for host-less awards shows.
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