The Academy Awards usually offers a few musical numbers. More often than not, they wind up being awkward wastes of time that fall flat, which is probably why Oscar producers decided to go in a completely different direction this year. Instead of making up their own music to reference the popular movies of the year, the ceremony invited many members of the Les Mis cast, Jennifer Hudson from Dreamgirls and Catherine Zeta-Jones from Chicago to perform numbers from their extremely successful movies.
If Twitter is any indication, the choice was a brilliant one. Zeta-Jones sang “All That Jazz” on top of a piano to raucous applause. Hudson belted out “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going” to a standing ovation from the crowd, all of the major Les Mis plays hit the stage for an inventive and fun medley that allowed each to shine. Everything was sung live, and everything was even more beautiful than it was probably conceived.
Not surprisingly, the collective dominance has led to many arguments about which performance was the best. Unlike the other acts, Zeta-Jones’ had really intricate choreography. She moved around quite a bit, which makes singing live substantially harder. Hudson did nothing but walk out on the stage, but her pitch was simply incredible. Not a single note was out of place. And the people from Les Mis? Well, they were able to incorporate damn near everyone from the movie and still found a way for each to shine.
Personally, I would have to choose Jennifer Hudson, but that’s just me. I want to know what you think. What Oscar number was the best? Let us know your thoughts by voting in the poll below…
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