Music

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo honour Judy Garland and Diana Ross in showstopping Oscars performance

Mar 03
Written by Marcus Wratten

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande opened the Oscars with a Wizard of Oz medley. (Getty)

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo opened the 2025 Oscars with a pitch-perfect tribute to LGBTQ+ allies Judy Garland and Diana Ross.

The 97th Academy Awards opened with a montage of films set in Los Angeles, from Fame to Barbie, as The Wizard of Oz’s most-famed line – “There’s no place like home” – bellowed in the background.

The montage paid tribute to the strength and community shown by those living in LA following the devastating wildfires that gripped the county in January.

Ariana Grande, who was nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category for her role as Glinda The Good Witch in the blockbuster adaptation of The Wizard of Oz prequel Wicked, then took to the stage in a glittering, ruby red gown, making reference to Dorothy Gale’s famous red slippers.

Standing under a stream of rainbow light, Grande belted her own rendition of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” to rapturous applause from the Oscars’ audience.

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Grande’s co-star Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba in Jon M Chu’s ten-time Oscar-nominated film Wicked, then took over the stage, dressed in a white gown adorned with flowers.

Erivo performed “Home” by Diana Ross, recorded for the 1978 film The Wiz, a reimagining of The Wizard of Oz, before Grande returned to the stage to perform their version of Wicked’s “Defying Gravity”.

Grande then stepped to the side of the stage and watched Erivo lovingly as she belted the song’s crescendo – you know the bit, “ooooouhuhuuhuhuhuh!”.

Cynthia Erivo is nominated in the Best Actress category for her role in Wicked; if she were to win, she would become an EGOT, having earned an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award.