The “Sinners” musical tribute rocked the Dolby Theatre during the 98th Annual Academy Awards, and Alabama was in on the fun.
Athens native and Alabama Shakes co-founder Brittany Howard appeared with a who’s who of talent, with actor/musician Miles Caton leading the way during a performance of Ryan Coogler’s Oscar-winning film’s song “I Lied to You.”
“Sinners” led all nominees with 16 on Sunday, including best picture, director, actor and many more, winning best original screenplay.
Among those, too, was best original song, for which star Miles Caton and songwriter Raphael Saadiq performed “I Lied to You,” the track featured in the memorable juke joint sequence and nominated for best original song at Sunday’s ceremony.
The “Sinners” performance also included a larger homage to the film and its music, with additional performers like ballet dancer Misty Copeland; musicians Eric Gales, Shaboozey, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Bobby Rush and Alice Smith; and co-stars Buddy Guy, Jayme Lawson and Li Jun Li, according to Deadline.
And on that stage, we saw Howard wearing a multicolored dress, sporting her customary Gibson SG, and giving the number some extra oomph with her unmistakable voice.
Watch the performance in the video above.
The Grammy-winning co-founder of Alabama Shakes wrote and performed the song “Pale, Pale Moon” on the movie’s soundtrack. It is sung by actress Jayme Lawson (who plays Pearline) in the film.
Howard, an Athens native, co-wrote the song with Ludwig Göransson, the Oscar-winning composer of the film’s original score.
You can stream “Sinners” on HBO Max.
Howard was one of three connections to Alabama seen during the broadcast.
“The Alabama Solution” was nominated for best documentary featured, but fell to “Mr. Nobody Against Putin.”