Miles Caton and Raphael Saadiq led an all-star crew for a performance of the Sinners track “I Lied to You.” The track, written by Saadiq and composer Ludwig Göransson, is nominated for Best Original Song.
Misty Copeland, Eric Gales, Buddy Guy, Brittany Howard, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Jayme Lawson, Li Jun Li, Bobby Rush, Shaboozey, and Alice Smith joined Caton and Saadiq for the performance.
The set design brought the film’s Club Juke to life in a chilling recreation of the transcendent scene where the history of Black music and dance springs to life all at once. Copeland represented modern ballet, while more dancers deployed twerking, breakdancing, Xiqu, Zaouli, and more. When the camera panned to Sinners director Ryan Coogler, his grin reflected the celebration and preservation of culture that his film represents.
In Sinners, which is nominated for a record-breaking 16 categories at this year’s Oscars, the song comes in at a pivotal moment, when Sammie Moore a.k.a. Preacher Boy (Caton) is introduced to the crowd at the juke joint where the film takes place. The sharecropper from Sunflower Plantation says, “They call me Preacher Boy on count of my daddy being a pastor. I wrote this song for him.” Sammie then launches into the raw blues song that embodies his defiance and dreams. As he performs it in the film, Black music’s past and future is woven into his character’s present. As he hits the last refrain of “Somebody take me in your arms,” the juke joint’s roof alights on fire.
The song is nominated for Best Original Song alongside “Dear Me” from Diane Warren: Relentless, music and lyrics by Diane Warren; “Golden” from Kpop Demon Hunters, music and lyrics by Ejae, Ido, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Mark Sonnenblick, Teddy, and 24; “Sweet Dreams of Joy” from Viva Verdi!, music and lyric by Nicholas Pike; and “Train Dreams” from Train Dreams, music by Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner, with lyrics by Nick Cave.
