Rei Ami, EJAE and Audrey Nuna perform ‘Golden’ during the 98th Annual Academy Awards held by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, CA, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Unlike past years, when multiple nominees for best original song were performed during the Oscars ceremony, Sunday night’s Academy Awards only featured two nominees: “I Lied to You” from Sinners and “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters, which took home the trophy.
Dressed in coordinating white outfits, the voices of HUNTR/X — EJAE, Rei Ami and Audrey Nuna — sang “Golden” as a troupe of dancers waved golden flags behind them. The Oscar audience got in on the fun by waving lightbulb-shaped glow sticks in time to the music.
Of note, the Oscar for best original song was presented by past winner Lionel Richie; “Golden” is the first K-pop song to be nominated for, and to win, an Oscar. An emotional EJAE, who co-wrote “Golden,” accepted the trophy and pronounced herself “so proud” that “everyone is singing our song,” which she said was about resilience. When one of the song’s other co-writers attempted to thank someone, the group was played off the stage.
The “I Lied to You” performance recreated a specific scene in the film, in which the character Sammie sings in Club Juke and the music is so powerful that the entire history of Black music unspools around him. In addition to those who appeared in the film — Miles Caton, Alice Smith and Buddy Guy — the number incorporated many guest musicians and artists, including Raphael Saadiq, who co-wrote the song, plus Shaboozey, Alabama Shakes’ Brittany Howard, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Bobby Rush and ballerina Misty Copeland.
One unexpected performance at the show was Josh Groban’s appearance during host Conan O’Brien’s opening monologue. As O’Brien imagined winning an Oscar and being crowned king, Groban was on hand to sing a comically dramatic song celebrating O’Brien’s genius.
And a bonus performance came from Barbra Streisand, who sang a bit of “The Way We Were” after eulogizing her co-star Robert Redford, who died in September 2025.
Key art for the ‘Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special.’ (Disney+)
Now it can be told: Last year, when Miley Cyrus started teasing “something special” for the 20th anniversary celebration of Hannah Montana, nothing had actually been planned.
“I learned this terrible habit — but I actually think it was good advice — from Dolly [Parton],” she tells Variety. “She told me that if you want something to happen, promote it before it exists. Then no one can say no. So I just started promoting a Hannah Montana 20th-anniversary special that literally did not exist.”
After telling Disney that it “would be huge,” Disney exec Charlie Andrews tells Variety, Miley “willed [the upcoming special] into existence.” In fact, they only started planning it in December. Charlie says, “The thing she was adamant about is that this is for the fans. That has gone into literally every decision she has made.”
So much so that Miley tapped Hannah Montana superfan Alex Cooper, host of the Call Her Daddy podcast, to help her create the special. “She understands Hannah in a way that I couldn’t,” Miley says. “I never got to experience Hannah being crazy in the pit with other kids.” To that end, she even listened when Alex said no to some of her ideas.
“She would go, ‘As a Hannah fan, no one wants that,’” Miley explains.
Alex also booked a cameo from Selena Gomez, who surprised Miley on set, Variety reports. “I love Selena, but I didn’t know how much our friendship meant to the fans,” Miley says.
Miley says the special, which streams on Disney+ and Hulu on March 24, is her way of “merging Hannah and Miley together.” And, she says, making the fans “feel seen.”
As she notes, “My entire life is because of that loyalty.”
Ryan Gosling stars as Ryland Grace in ‘Project Hail Mary’ (Amazon MGM Studios)
For many movie fans, their weekend project was going to seeProject Hail Mary.
The Ryan Gosling sci-fi flick brought in $80.58 million in its opening weekend to debut at #1. According to Variety those numbers make Project Hail Mary the biggest debut of 2026 so far, and also the biggest ever opening for Amazon MGM, surpassing 2023’s Creed III, which brought in $58 million in its debut week.
Disney’s Hoppers, which has spent the last two weeks in the top spot, slipped to #2 with $18 million, followed by the Indian Hindi-language thriller Dhurandhar The Revenge at #3 with a $9.57 million debut. The horror flick Ready or Not 2: Here I Come debuted at #4 with just over $9 million.
Reminders of Him rounds at the top 5 with $8 million.
Here are the top 10 films at the box office 1. Project Hail Mary – $80.58 million 2. Hoppers – $18 million 3. Dhurandhar The Revenge – $9.57 million 4. Ready or Not 2: Here I Come – $9.1 million 5. Reminders of Him – $8 million 6. Scream 7 – $4.3 million 7. GOAT – $3.5 million 8. Undertone – $3 million 9. Wuthering Heights – $475,000 10. Avatar: Fire and Ash – $280,000
