Sofia Carson & Diane Warren Shine On The 2023 Oscars Stage With 'Applause'

Sofia Carson and accomplished songwriter Diane Warren teamed up to bring their song "Applause" from the film Tell It Like A Woman to the 2023 Oscars stage on Sunday night (March 12th). Sofia commanded the stage in a beautiful sequinned gown while Warren accompanied her at the piano in a chic pantsuit. The two were joined by a choir and small orchestra on stage for the performance.

"Applause" is up for Best Original Song at this year's awards show going up against pop giants like Rihanna and Lady Gaga, who are also set to perform their songs "Lift Me Up" from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and "Hold My Hand" from Top Gun: Maverick respectively, later in the show. Other Best Original Song nominees performed as well including Sofia Carson and Dianne Warren ("Applause" from Tell It Like a Woman), David Bryne and Stephanie Hsu ("This Is a Life" from Everything Everywhere All at Once), and Golden Globe winners Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava ("Naatu Naatu" from RRR).

Carson and Warren's nomination also earned the latter 14th nomination at the awards show and in 2022 she received an Honorary Award at the Academy's Governors Awards in November. You can see the night's winners here.

This year's awards show took place at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood with Jimmy Kimmel returning as the host. The late-night show host previously hosted the Oscars in 2017 and 2018. After two years of host-less shows, the Oscars brought back the host format in 2022 with Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes, and Regina Hall. The biggest films of the year were celebrated at this year's Academy Awards including Avatar: The Way of Water, Elvis, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Tár, Top Gun: Maverick, and more.