Andrea Bocelli made a surprise appearance at Oscars 2024 on Sunday, where he gave a touching performance during the In Memoriam segment.
The superstar Italian tenor, 65, was joined by his son Matteo, 26, as they sang his classic ‘Time to Say Goodbye’ together and honored a number of late stars who died in the last year.
The Academy Awards paid tribute to Friends star Matthew Perry — who was left out of the BAFTAs annual memoriam list last month — Dumbledore actor Michael Gambon, Little Miss Sunshine star Alan Arkin, Paul Reubens, Harry Belafonte, as well as Curb Your Enthusiasm star Richard Lewis, after he passed away on February 27th at the age of 76.
Bocelli sang a new rendition of the song with the help of Matteo and two-time Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer.
Time to Say Goodbye was originally released in 1995 as ‘Con te Partirò,’ which translates to ‘I will leave with you’ in Italian.
Andrea Bocelli, 65, and his son Matteo, 26, made a surprise appearance at Oscars 2024 on Sunday, where they gave a touching performance during the In Memoriam segment
Friends actor Matthew Perry, who died in October of 2023 at the age of 54, was among those honored in the tribute after he was recently left out of the BAFTAs memoriam list
Bocelli recorded the track with British soprano Sarah Brightman the following year, changing some of the lyrics to English.
During the segment, numerous dancers took the stage for a performance art piece.
The father and son duo matched in electric blue suits.
The tribute to Perry comes after his ex-girlfriend urged the 2024 Academy Awards to include the late Hollywood actor as part of the In Memorium section.
Kayti Edwards, who dated him in 2006 and worked as his assistant in 2011, said it was ‘his dream to be recognized’ after the BAFTAs failed to mention him last month.
Matthew was found face-down in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home on October 28 last year at the age of 54, with the autopsy confirming that he died from the ‘acute effects of ketamine’ and drowning.
Others who were honored during the segment included Melinda Dillon, Piper Laurie, Ryan O’Neal, Julian Sands, Carl Weathers, Treat Williams, Burt Young, and directors William Friedkin and Norman Jewison among others.
French actress and singer Jane Birkin, who died at 76 in July of last year, was also among those honored.
There were also tributes to comedian Richard Lewis as well as Andre Braugher, Tom Wilkinson, Richard Roundtree.
The Academy also honored all the stars who we’ve lost over the past year in an In Memoriam tribute on their website.
The superstar Italian tenor sang his classic hit ‘Time to Say Goodbye’
During the segment, numerous dancers took the stage for a performance art piece
Bocelli sang a new rendition of the song with the help of Matteo and two-time Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer
The father and son duo matched in electric blue suits
The Academy Awards also paid tribute to Little Miss Sunshine star Alan Arkin, Dumbledore actor Michael Gambon, as well as Paul Reubens, Harry Belafonte among others
French actress and singer Jane Birkin, who died at 76 in July of last year, was among those honored
Ryan O’Neal, who passed at 82-year-old in December, was included in the tribute as well
Curb Your Enthusiasm star Richard Lewis was also included, after he passed away on February 27th at the age of 76
Paul Reubens was seen as his iconic Pee-wee Herman character
Oscar-nominated star Tom Wilkinson who starred in The Full Monty, Batman Begins and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, died at the age of 75
It was an eventful night at the Oscars, after Al Pacino announced Oppenheimer as the Best Picture winner without bothering to name all the other nominees while Emma Stone had an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction as the chaos toward the end of the broadcast took center stage on Hollywood’s biggest night.
Emma had earned a shock win in the Actress in a Leading Role category for her work in Poor Things on a night where Oppenheimer stood above all as biggest winner of the night with seven including top honor Best Picture and major wins for Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., and Christopher Nolan.
Even after the actress’ embarrassing moment with her dress, it was shaping up to be a decent end to the 96th annual Academy Awards telecast at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on Sunday until the Hollywood legend rushed through his presenting of the last award of the night.
The 83-year-old Scarface star hit the stage and made an awkward joke about performing Shakespeare before jumping straight to announcing the Best Picture winner.
‘Ten wonderful films are nominated, but only one will take the award for best picture. And I have to go to the envelope for that. And I will. Here it comes. And my eyes see Oppenheimer, yes!’
Meanwhile Emma, 35, powered through a wardrobe malfunction as she beat out an impressive field including favorite Lily Gladstone from Killers Of The Flower Moon in addition to Annette Bening, Nyad, Sandra Huller, Anatomy of a Fall, and Carey Mulligan, Maestro.
This came after Cillian Murphy won the Oscar after being nominated for an Academy Award for the first time in his career as he triumphed over Bradley Cooper, Maestro, Colman Domingo, Rustin, Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers, and Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction.
