The Oscars dominated Sunday night, and so did Sinners. Ryan Coogler’s vampire movie didn’t win everything it was nominated for, but it arguably had the night’s best live musical performance, which thankfully went up on YouTube as the ceremony was still going on.
Actors Miles Caton, Jayme Lawson, Li Jun Li, and Buddy Guy got onstage to perform “I Lied to You” alongside performers like Misty Copeland, Shaboozey and Raphael Saadiq. Along with dancers dressed as the juke joint patrons and musicians from the past and present, there was a brief guest appearance by Jack O’Connell (complete with vampire fangs, of course) and some pretty great cinematography tracking everyone onstage. You see that, and it’s no wonder the performance got a standing ovation.
“[Sinners] was about the power of the delta blues music,” said Coogler before the performance. “It’s a form of healing and affirmation of the existence of a people who dream, built, fought, and loved. It’s both sacred and profane, simple yet complex, both human and divine. That’s powerful magic that reshaped global culture in its image.”
Award-wise, Sinners took home Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, and Best Leading Actor. The screenplay, acting, and cinematography wins marked the respective firsts for Coogler, Michael B. Jordan, and cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw (in turn making her the first woman to win in that category). It may have only won a quarter of its nominations, but that doesn’t take away from it being one of 2025’s best movies, or from how great its music is.
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