ABC/CRAIG SJODINJanelle Monáe started the Oscars with a bang.
The 34-year-old singer began her performance with a nod to It’s A Beautiful Day and narrowly avoided a wardrobe malfunction when a button came undone on her sweater. Like a pro she carried on and sang a short rendition of “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” before she picked up the pace and got the star-studded audience involved with her record “Come Alive.”
Monáe even got actors like Leonardo DiCaprio to sing along before she headed back to the stage where backup dancers dressed in costumes honoring some of the night’s nominated movies like Joker, Us, Midsommar and Little Women.
That wasn’t the end of this energetic performance though. Pose star Billy Porter got in on the action and sang along as Monáe took a moment to showcase her piano skills.
She ended the flashy number with a not so subtle jab at the Academy by congratulating all of the women directors who made movies — none of which were nominated for an Oscar — and added that she’s proud to be queer and black — both of which lacked representation within the nominees.
