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Oscars Confirm Rumored ‘Wicked’ Performance Is a Go

Cynthia Erivo shut down the rumors only weeks ago: “I don’t know why we would be doing that.”

The Wicked performance many fans have been hoping for at this year’s Oscars has been confirmed, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which reports that Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo will be performing on the awards season’s biggest night. What songs the duo will perform has not been announced, but the confirmation is a surprise given Erivo told Variety earlier this month that she doesn’t know where the rumors that she and Grande were performing at the March show were coming from. “I don’t know why we would do that, since our song is not nominated,” Erivo said at the time. “That doesn’t happen, okay? Sorry.” In January, the Academy announced its plan to “move away” from live performances of Oscar-nominated songs—so a live Wicked performance actually fits right in to that initiative, given the film’s ineligibility for a Best Original Song nom (since its music comes from the stage play). Prior to the performance’s confirmation, Puck News reported that the stars would open the show with a “medley,” of the film’s songs—but of course, the Academy has not confirmed that report.