Brutally honest rankings of Oscars 2022 best song performances, from Billie Eilish to Beyonce

Music and passion were definitely the fashion at Sunday’s Academy Awards.

While music is only an ancillary aspect of the annual salute to movies, live performances are still an anticipated thread in the show.

Four of this year’s nominees performed their best original song contenders, while the fifth, Van Morrison for “Down to Joy” from “Belfast,” couldn’t attend due to his touring schedule overseas.

But this Oscars did score a bonus performance due to the unending popularity of the song not nominated from the animated “Encanto” – “We Don’t Talk About Bruno.”

Here’s a look at the performances from the most uninspiring to the most electric:

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5. Reba McEntire, ‘Somehow You Do’ from ‘Four Good Days’

McEntire is usually a reliable firecracker of a performer, but she couldn’t do much with the bland “Somehow You Do” from the drug addiction drama, “Four Good Days.”

Songwriter Diane Warren is among the finest in the business, but as she continued her quest for an Oscar – this was not her lucky 13 – it’s worth remembering some of her nominated gems including “Because You Loved Me” from “Up Close and Personal” and “How Do I Live” from “Con Air.”

“Somehow You Do” features a classic “there’s better days ahead” uplift and lilting lap steel guitar (the musician playing the instrument behind McEntire nearly upstaged her with his fervent playing).

McEntire, her trademark auburn hair in an updo, occasionally strained to hit the higher notes, but with the assistance of her three backup singers, ably delivered. That would be suitable for some performers, but it felt disappointing coming from this country legend.

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4. Sebastián Yatra, ‘Dos Oruguitas’ from ‘Encanto’

The Colombian singer was endearingly nervous during his performance, sometimes clasping both hands around his microphone to keep his hands from shaking.

But he nonetheless delivered a soulful version of the Lin-Manuel Miranda-penned song, performing on a set decorated with flora and sharing it with a dancing couple.

Yatra’s dark suit nodded to the Oscar-winning “Encanto” with its butterfly motif, a subtle complement to his elegantly affecting performance.

“Dos Oruguitas” – which means “two caterpillars” – is the first song Miranda wrote entirely in Spanish.

He told Rolling Stone that the words are “so much prettier in Spanish” and that while his brain “runs in English mode,” that after writing the song he started dreaming again in Spanish, which he hadn’t done since childhood.

Miranda previously scored an Oscar nomination in 2016 for the “Moana” song, “How Far I’ll Go.”

3. Billie Eilish and Finneas, ‘No Time to Die’ from ‘No Time to Die’

In keeping with the ethos of the James Bond theme, Eilish was appropriately dark in hair and dress, shrouded by a pyramid of lasers while brother Finneas plinked the eerie piano opening of the song.

The mumbly, lo-fi essence of the song is an anomaly among Bond themes. But the string-laden ballad achieved liftoff by its finale, with Eilish nailing a note before bringing the song back down to a whisper.

When it won best original song, an overwhelmed Eilish clutched her Oscar and said, “This is so unbelievable.” Finneas thanked the pair’s parents for “being our biggest inspirations and heroes.”

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Despite its recent fanfare, “No Time to Die” strolled leisurely to Oscars glory. It was released in February 2020 but the film of the same name – also Daniel Craig’s swan song as the bruised-yet-dapper 007 – experienced numerous pandemic delays and didn’t open until November 2021.

By that time, Eilish and Finneas already snagged a Grammy for the hushed ballad (best song written for visual media in March 2021) and the slow burner was long forgotten on the charts, where it peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 2020.

2. Cast of ‘Encanto,’ ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’

Though the “Encanto” song wasn’t nominated – songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda opted to submit “Dos Oruguitas” before “Bruno” became a record-setting smash – producers sought to capitalize on what some might call its inexplicable popularity.

But there was no denying the infectious fizziness conveyed by the musical squad as they covered much of the acreage inside the Dolby Theatre while chanting the chorus that is the essence of the song.

Cameos from Megan Thee Stallion (with a rap customized for the Oscars), Luis Fonsi, Becky G and Sheila E. added celebrity wattage, while the stage looked like a bag of Skittles exploded in a rainbow of color.

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1. Beyonce, ‘Be Alive’ from 'King Richard'

With the lime green tennis courts in Compton as her backdrop, Beyonce opened the 94th Academy Awards with an assist from tennis titans Venus and Serena Williams.

“Be Alive,” Beyonce’s nominated song from “King Richard,” soared as the singing icon paid tribute from the California location that served as a vital training ground for the Williams sisters, whose life story is chronicled in the Will Smith-fronted movie.

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The glamorous siblings introduced Beyonce from Oscars headquarters at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles before the camera cut to Compton, where Beyonce was ready to inspire.

“I want you to tell these people where we are,” Beyonce, clad in a feathered neon green dress, commanded her troupe of background singers and dancers. “City of Compton,” they replied, in the style of Tupac Shakur’s “California Love.”

Backed by her band, a string section and horns, Beyonce belted with trademark attitude the march of a song that she co-wrote with Dixson (real name Darius Scott), ending her performance with a two-fingered salute from her forehead.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Oscars best song performances reviews from Billie Eilish to Beyonce