Sure, the Oscars are known for tearful acceptance speeches from A-list actors, the occasional interpretive dance numbers set to Oscar-nominated scores, and a lot of movie montages. But there are also the occasional musical numbers, too! The five tunes up for this year's Best Original Song are not only pretty good, but they'll boast some incredible singers to perform them. Here's who to expect to hear on Oscar night.
Mary J. Blige
It's a big year for singer-turned-actress Blige: She's nominated for two Oscars for Dee Rees's stark drama Mudbound for Best Supporting Actress and for Best Original Song. She'll also perform "Mighty River," which she co-wrote with Raphael Saadiq and Taura Stinson, during the ceremony.
Common and Andra Day
While the Chadwick Boseman-fronted Marshall, a biopic about Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, didn't get a lot of awards love, Common (who previously won an Oscar for Selma's "Glory" in 2015) and Andra Day will represent the film when they perform its nominated song, "Stand Up for Something," which Common wrote with songwriting powerhouse Diane Warren.
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Gael Garcia Bernal, Miguel, and Natalia Lafourcade
The Pixar hit Coco features "Remember Me," an original song by the Oscar and Grammy-winning husband-and-wife team Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, the duo behind Frozen's mega-hit "Let It Go." Mexican actor Bernal will join Miguel and Natalie Lafourcade during the performance of their pop track.
Keala Settle
The Greatest Showman might easily earn its single Oscar for its empowering musical showstopper, "This Is Me." The film's star Keala Settle, an honest-to-goodness vocal powerhouse, will perform the song written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the songwriting team behind the Tony-winning smash Dear Evan Hanson and last year's "City of Stars" from La La Land.
Sufjan Stevens
The singer-songwriter wrote two original songs for Call Me By Your Name's soundtrack "Visions of Gideon" is perhaps the better one, but we'll let the Academy slide. Still, it'll be nice to see the charming indie-rocker gain some mainstream recognition when he performs "Mystery of Love" during the Oscars broadcast.
Tyler Coates is the Senior Culture Editor at Esquire.com. He lives in Los Angeles.
