The producers of the 98th Oscars have confirmed that — as The Hollywood Reporter exclusively reported last week — the March 15 ceremony will feature special “moments” celebrating two of 2025’s most popular movies, Sinners and KPop Demon Hunters, that will include but also go well beyond performances of those films’ Oscar-nominated songs.
Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan said in a statement: “This year, our music performances are inspired by two of the most powerful cultural phenomena in film: Sinners, the most nominated film in Oscars history, and KPop Demon Hunters, a global pop culture sensation. These show moments are more than just performances — they expand into cinematic tributes that celebrate the relationship between music and storytelling and why these films resonated so deeply with audiences around the world.”
The KPop Demon Hunters moment will include a fusion of traditional Korean instrumentalists and dance celebrating the folklore and cultural inspiration behind the animated film that became Netflix’s most watched original film ever, and it will also include a performance of the film’s Oscar-nominated original song “Golden” featuring the singing voices behind the film’s fictional girl group HUNTR/X, EJAE, AUDREY NUNA and REI AMI.
The Sinners moment will explore the role that music plays in that film’s story, and will lead into a performance of the film’s Oscar-nominated original song “I Lied to You” led by Miles Caton and Raphael Saadiq, but also featuring the blues legends Buddy Guy and Bobby Rush, the ballet great Misty Copeland, rapper Shaboozey, musicians Alice Smith, Eric Gales, Brittany Howard and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, and actresses Jayme Lawson and Li Jun Li.
The producers also revealed that the show, which Conan O’Brien is set to host, will include unrelated performances by Josh Groban and the Los Angeles Master Chorale. One might reasonably suspect that they will be featured during the show’s In Memoriam segment, which is expected to be extra powerful this year following the deaths of an unusual number of film icons, including Diane Keaton, Robert Redford, Brigitte Bardot, Robert Duvall and Catherine O’Hara.
