Beyoncé served up an electrifying performance to kick off the 94th annual Academy Awards.
Following an introduction from Venus and Serena Williams, Queen Bey performed her Oscar-nominated song “Be Alive” live from the Compton tennis courts. The satellite performance opened with the young actresses who played Venus and Serena in King Richard, Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton, walking the streets of Compton where the Williams sisters grew up.
Dressed in tennis ball green against a matching backdrop on the palm tree-lined courts, Bey and her all-female dancers got in formation, while joined by an orchestra with neon green-clad instruments.
“Oscars, I want you to tell these people where we are,” said Bey before chanting “City of Compton!” in an homage to Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre’s “Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang.’”
The performance capped off with a surprise cameo from Blue Ivy, who joined her mother in the final moments. “It feels so good to be alive / Got all my sisters by my side,” sang Bey as her 10-year-old daughter sat in front of her.
Beyoncé received her first Oscar nomination for Best Original Song for “Be Alive” from King Richard, which is nominated alongside “Dos Oruguitas” (Lin-Manuel Miranda), “Down to Joy” (Van Morrison), “No Time to Die” (Billie Eilish & Finneas O’Connell), and “Somehow You Do” (Diane Warren).
This marks Bey’s fourth Oscar performance. In 2005, she performed numerous tracks that were nominated for Original Song. Two years later, she sang a Dreamgirls medley alongside Jennifer Hudson and Anika Noni Rose and joined host Hugh Jackman in a montage celebrating movie musicals in 2009.