The 2020 Oscars stage was quite busy with all the action, with key moments ranging all the way from ‘Parasite‘ director Bong Joon’s ‘Mean Girls‘ move to Joaquin Phoenix‘s sentimental confessional, but with no emcee for yet another year, The Academy made sure the performances were more than enough to keep the audience buzzing.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the list:

1. Opening number

Janelle Monae

You know it’s a successful performance when you get Brie Larson to join in the fun. Monae had the proud Oscars attendees’ undivided attention with a call-and-response and later had a very sparkly Billy Porter (who birthed a whole new string of memes) join the stage for a cameo.

2. Stand Up

Cynthia Erivo

Undoubtedly one of the best performances of the night, Cynthia Erivo owned every bit of that shimmering, gold stage in her shimmering, gold gown. The choir behind her only added to the effect of the performance, leaving nothing more left to be desired from the Tony, Grammy and Emmy award-winner.

3. Yesterday

Billie Eilish

At only 18, the proud recipient of multiple Grammys, Billie Eilish, delivered an awesome performance for the In Memoriam segment of the Oscars.

4. I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away

Randy Newman

Calling all ‘Toy Story‘ fans to this one! Newman, who had previously been nominated for the Oscars a whopping 22 times dished out a lovely little performance that was enjoyable for Oscar-attendees of all ages!

5. Into the Unknown

Idina Menzel

Idina Menzel – pronounced the way it’s spelt, John Travolta, (thanks Olaf – I mean, Josh Gad) – returned to the stage from her 2014 performance for the first ‘Frozen.’ Now donning an elegant, snow-white dress, she slayed the song amongst the other Elsa voice actors.

6. (I’m Gonna) Love Me Again

Elton John

Although it certainly wasn’t his best, classic “Rocketman” star Elton John stayed true to his vivid colour palette and groovy jams with this special performance.

7. I’m Standing With You

Chrissy Metz

Swaying to a solemn ballad, Chrissy Metz and her beautiful set of pipes came through with this song from her movie ‘Breakthrough.’ This was yet another performance that had a backing choir and though there wasn’t much movement, it was a lovely melody overall.

8. Acapella medley

Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph

Come for the music, stay for the comedy! This fabulous duo was a refreshing number to the line-up with their clothing-based medley of tunes.

Although it may have been confusing to some…

9. Oscars rap recap

Utkarsh Ambudkar

You probably know him from either “Pitch Perfect” or “Brittany Runs a Marathon,” or maybe you don’t know him at all. Either way, Utkarsh Ambudkar put on a show that got everyone talking – in a good way.

10. Lose Yourself

Eminem

The legendary rapper was an easter egg that the Academy had snuck in, genuinely surprising a lot of people. The song had orignially won an Oscar back in 2002, although Eminem never showed up for the performance.

“Look, if you had another shot, another opportunity… Thanks for having me @TheAcademy. Sorry it took me 18 years to get here,” he tweeted, quoting his lyrics above a clip of the awarding in 2020.

Now in 2020, he makes a grand return to finsh the job, to which the audience had a great (and very mixed) reaction:

And somehow, we get the impression that Martin Scorsese wasn’t really feeling it:

What did you think of the Oscar 2020 performances?