Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo honor L.A. with 3 generations of Wizard Of Oz music

Grande and Erivo opened the Oscars with songs from the original 1939 film and The Wiz, before performing "Defying Gravity."

By Emma Keates | March 2, 2025 | 7:51pm

Screenshot: Oscars/YouTube

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Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo honor L.A. with 3 generations of Wizard Of Oz music

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The Oscars held space for multiple iterations of The Wizard Of Oz tonight in a lovely tribute to L.A. Instead of introducing host Conan O’Brien straight out of the gate, the ceremony instead began with a compilation of scenes from films like La La Land, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, and Iron Man 2 that took place in the recently fire-ravaged city. As the screen cut to black, Ariana Grande took to the stage to perform a powerful rendition of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”—a fitting dedication to a city that has seen so many of tonight’s nominees’ dreams come true.

Throughout this awards season, wherever Grande has gone, Cynthia Erivo hasn’t been far behind. That was true again tonight, as Grande’s fellow Wicked star followed with her own rendition of “Home” from The Wiz. But as nice as it was to see these women dabble in a little Ozian history, the tribute wouldn’t have been complete without “Defying Gravity,” which Erivo launched into to complete the trio while Grande looked on as a proud friend from the sidelines. You can watch the tribute below, and follow along with our live coverage to see if either woman follows the yellow brick road to a golden statuette tonight.