The Oscars will celebrate Sinners and KPop Demon Hunters at Sunday’s ceremony, with special musical “moments” featuring nominated songs from the films.
Actor Miles Caton and Grammy-winning musician Raphael Saadiq will lead the Sinners tribute with a performance of the nominated original song “I Lied To You,” the film academy announced Tuesday.
They’ll be joined by Misty Copeland, Eric Gales, Buddy Guy, Brittany Howard, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Jayme Lawson, Li Jun Li, Bobby Rush, Shaboozey, and Alice Smith in a celebration of “the film’s visual style,” per show producers.
Saadiq and Ludwig Goransson wrote “I Lied to You,” which Caton performed in the film as sharecropper Sammie “Preacher Boy.”
Related: Oscar Nominations 2026 – Full List of Nominees
The KPop Demon Hunters segment will open with a fusion of traditional Korean instrumentalists and dance, “celebrating the cultural inspiration behind the animated blockbuster.”
Then Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami, the singing voices behind HUNTR/X, will perform the nominated single “Golden.”
“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,” Oscars executive producers Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan said in a joint statement Tuesday.
“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 two added.
“I Lied to You” and “Golden” will compete in the best original song category against “Dear Me” from the film Diane Warren: Relentless; “Sweet Dreams of Joy” from Viva Verdi!; and “Train Dreams” from Train Dreams.
Josh Groban and the Los Angeles Master Chorale are also set to take the stage, with producers saying more performances will be announced ahead of the ceremony.
The 98th Oscars air live from Hollywood on Sunday, March 15, at 7 P.M. ET/4 P.M. PT on ABC and Hulu.
The image above shows (L-R) Miles Caton and Raphael Saadiq performing “I Lied to You” on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and HUNTR/X performing “Golden” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. (Credit: ABC and NBC)
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