WATCH: Common and Andra Day’s inspiring Oscars performance
The song did not win an Oscar, but the performance was applause-worthy.
Oscar, Grammy, and Emmy-award winning hip hop artist Common took to the 2018 Oscars stage with singer Andra Day for a powerful performance of their collaboration "Stand Up for Something."
Oscar, Grammy, and Emmy-award winning hip hop artist Common took to the 2018 Oscars stage with singer Andra Day for a powerful performance of their collaboration “Stand Up for Something.”
The song is part of the soundtrack for Marshall, the biopic about the legendary civil rights pioneer and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Black Panther‘s Chadwick Boseman played the title role.
Common and Day literally turned the spotlight on 10 activists who are currently continuing the work of Marshall and others. The chosen freedom fighters come from a wide range of backgrounds and causes.
The activists included Tarana Burke (Me Too); Janet Mock (#GirlsLikeUs);Patrisse Cullors (Black Lives Matter); Alice Brown Otter (Standing Rock Youth Council); Bana Alabed (author and Syrian refugee); Bryan Stevenson (Equal Justice Initiative); Cecile Richards (Planned Parenthood Action Fund); Dolores Huerta (Dolores Huerta Foundation, United Farm Workers of America); José Andrés (ThinkFoodGroup); and Nicole Hockley (Sandy Hook Promise).
-Academy Awards 2018: #BlackExcellence on the red carpet-
Clad in all black, the 10 activists stood under the glare of the spotlight during Common and Day’s performance. The strength and stoicism of the visuals punctuated the song’s powerful chorus:
It all means nothing
If you don’t stand up for something
You can’t just talk the talk
You got to walk that walk, yes you do
It all means nothing
If you don’t stand up for something
And I stand up for you
And I stand up for you, yes I will, yes I will
“Stand Up for Something” was nominated for an Oscar at this year’s ceremony, but lost out to “Remember Me” from the Disney film Coco.
Common did not snag the prize this time, but he does have already have an Oscar under his belt. The Chicago rapper earned an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2015 for “Glory,” his collaboration with singer John Legend. The song was part of the soundtrack for Ava DuVernay’s Selma.
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