Blackpink’s Lisa becomes first K-pop musician to perform at Academy Awards
Blackpink member Lisa became the first K-pop artist to perform at the Oscars as part of a trio paying tribute to the music of the James Bond film series.
The tribute at the 97th Academy Awards, coming barely a week after Amazon acquired the rights to the film series, kicked off with a tango routine set to the iconic Bond theme by The Substance’s Margaret Qualley, followed by a musical montage by Lisa and her collaborators on her new single, “Born Again”, the American rapper Doja Cat and the British singer Raye.
The Thai singer and actor, whose real name is Lalisa Manobal and who is currently acting in the HBO satirical series The White Lotus, did a rendition of the theme song from the 1973 Bond film Live and Let Die. She was followed by Doja Cat singing “Diamonds are Forever”, originally performed by Shirley Bassey for the 1971 film of the same name.
Raye rounded out the tribute, performing “Skyfall” from the 2021 film of that name. The original, sung by Adele, won multiple awards, including the Oscar and the Golden Globe for best original song, a Brit award, and a Grammy.
Halle Berry, who played NSA agent Giacinta ‘Jinx’ Johnson in 2002’s Die Another Day, celebrated the British spy franchise’s outgoing producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson.
“They don’t just produce Bond movies, they were the heart and soul of the franchise for decades,” she said.
“Every generation does have their Bond, you know? The world revolves – it evolves, and so does he. But that signature mix of danger, style, and intrigue? Well, that’s timeless.”
Many viewers of the Oscars ceremony were confused by the sequence, wondering why it was happening when there was no new movie on the horizon.
“I’m a huge James Bond fan but unless they are announcing the new Bond, I don’t see the point,” one person wrote on X. Another said: “This James Bond montage and performance is cool and all, but it has no relevance to…anything about the last year in movies.”
A third viewer wrote: “I’m so confused. Why are we honouring Bond if there’s no new movie out and we don’t even know when the next movie is coming out?”
Many of Lisa’s fans were impressed with her performance, however, even though some criticised her singing voice. “My jaw dropppp, look at her burning up oscars stage gracefully ohmygod lisa you’re such a great performer!” said one person on X.
“The Oscars could have taken Adele and Sam Smith to pay tribute since they were Oscar winners with their songs, but they took Lisa, who has zero vocal ability. Raye is the only talented one of that trio,” another person posted on X.
Find the full list of the 2025 Oscar winners here.
This year’s Oscars competition was the closest in years, a three-horse race between Sean Baker’s critical darling Anora, Brady Corbet’s sweeping epic The Brutalist and Pope drama Conclave.
Ultimately, Anora became the evening’s big winner, taking home five trophies, including Best Picture.
Actors in contention to become Oscar winners included Demi Moore for The Substance and Timothée Chalamet for A Complete Unknown, but both lost out on the night, with Mikey Madison taking home Best Actress and Adrien Brody winning his second Best Actor Oscar for The Brutalist.
-Agency
