Beyonce’s Oscars performance was “pre-taped” to ensure “nothing was left to chance”.
The 40-year-old singer was joined by her 10-year-old daughter Blue Ivy as she kicked off the Academy Awards on Sunday (03.27.22) with a rendition of ‘Be Alive’ from ‘King Richard’, and now an ABC executive has weighed in on the decision.
Speaking to Billboard, Rob Mills – EVP Unscripted and Alternative Entertainment at the broadcaster’s parent company Walt Disney Television – said: “It was pre-taped.
“I think that as you can see, Beyonce clearly had a really amazing vision for that song, and I think it was just making sure nothing was left to chance.”
She was introduced by Venus and Serena Williams – who were in attendance for the ceremony at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood – and she was joined by a host of backing dancers including her eldest child as she sang from the sisters’ hometown tennis courts in Compton, California.
Dressed in tennis ball colors of green and yellow, Beyonce – who was nominated for Best Original Song for the first time – urged her dancers and musicians to “sing it like you mean it”.
Another highlight of the night saw a performance of ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’ – which was in ‘Encanto’ but not nominated – featuring Megan Thee Stallion, and Mills noted how important it was to include the track.
He explained: “Right around January, you could see something was happening with that movie and that soundtrack when it started streaming on Disney+.
“You could see, ‘Wow this song has a chance to be No. 1 on Billboard.’ When you have the song of a movie that is a No.1 smash on Billboard, you have to implement that on the show.”
He added: “[Megan Thee Stallion’s involvement] was kept under wraps beautifully, but that was Will Packer and Shayla, they had gone and arranged that.
“It was amazing that it was kept a secret really up until the show.”
