Though he is best-known at this point for his work with the show-stopping historical musical Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda is also up for an Oscar this year for a totally separate project, the animated film Moana. His collaboration with Auli’i Cravalho on “How Far I’ll Go” from the movie is up for Best Original Song tonight, and the two performed it at the show.
After a hilarious stint on the red carpet earlier tonight, Miranda and Cravalho were the second musical performance of the night, following up Justin Timberlake’s opener.
Moana is a Disney comedy-adventure that tells the story of the daughter of a Polynesian chief who she sets sail for Maui in search of a cure for a blight that strikes her people, and Cravalho voices the character of Moana in the film. So while most people might have gone into this being more familiar with Miranda, who rapped a bit to kick the performance off, Cravalho completely stole the show in a stunning red ball gown.
Though she’s only 16 years old, she hit every high note and had an undeniable presence onstage. Clearly, Moana is just the beginning for her. Watch the show-stopping performance above and check out all the Oscars musical performances here.
