A ‘Wicked’ Night at the Oscars: Two Wins, Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo’s Magical Performance and Paul Tazewell Makes History
The Wicked team’s lives have been changed — for good.
The Oscars 2025 opened with Glinda (Ariana Grande) and Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) taking the stage to sing. Grande started with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” before Erivo took over to perform “Home” from The Wiz. Then, they came back together to sing Wicked‘s part one closer, “Defying Gravity.” Ariana watched in awe, seeing Erivo soar and nailing those final notes, as did the audience. The performance earned a standing ovation.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
The film was up for 10 nominations and won two, with Erivo and Grande also up for noms in their respective categories. Legendary costume designer Paul Tazewell picked up its first award. Tazewell made history for being the first Black man to win for best costume design.
“I’m so proud of this,” he said in his speech. “Thank you, everyone in the U.K., for all your beautiful work. And to my Ozian muses, Cynthia and Ariana, I love you so much. All the other cast, thank you, thank you, thank you for trusting me with bringing your characters to life. This is everything.”
Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales took home the other win for best production design. Check out the complete list of winners and see the star-studded Oscars red carpet 2025 arrivals here.
Other memorable moments in the show included when the Wicked castmember Bowen Yang presented the best costume design category in his full Shiz University uniform. Also, the show’s host, Conan O’Brien poked fun at the musical, saying, “It’s the perfect movie for anyone who’s ever finished watching The Wizard of Oz and thought, sure, but where did all the minor characters go to college? That’s the story!”
Before the show began, Erivo teased the film’s sequel Wicked: For Good to Jesse Palmer on the red carpet. “These girls have to deal with the consequences of their decisions and it’s both joyful and heartbreaking and all the things you could possibly imagine,” she said. “And there are some songs in there that you might recognize and love too, and I think it will be really special.”
Wicked: For Good will premiere in November.
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
Sign up for THR's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Solve the daily Crossword
