Sinners took the Oscars audience into its arms Sunday night (March 15) as star Miles Caton and “I Lied to You” cowriter Raphael Saadiq delivered a rousing performance of the tune from the film, which is nominated for 16 awards — the most in Academy Award history — including best original song.
The lively performance was reminiscent of the scene from the movie during which Caton’s character, Sammie, performs the same song, with attendees of the juke joint — which was replicated on the Oscars stage — dancing in a marriage of culture and celebration. It was a star-studded affair that featured not only the actor, but also his costars Li Jun Li (Grace) and Jayme Lawson (Pearline) dancing along to the music, though Michael B. Jordan was not on stage. Many musicians also joined in on the performance, including Shaboozey, Brittany Howard, Alice Smith, Bobby Rush, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram and Buddy Guy. Also dancing on stage was celebrated ballet dancer Misty Copeland.
Ahead of the show, the academy teased that the “I Lied to You” performance would be a celebration of the critically acclaimed film’s “singular visual style.”
The movie — directed by Ryan Coogler — is also nominated for best picture, original score (Ludwig Goransson), best actor (Jordan, who played two roles) and supporting actor (Delroy Lindo), best supporting actress (Wunmi Mosaku), best director (Coogler) and more.
Conan O’Brien played host for the second year in a row at the Academy Awards. This year’s ceremony was once again held at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood, and aired live on ABC and streamed on Hulu.
Watch the performance of “I Lied to You” above.
