As the 95th annual Academy Awards rolls on, John Travolta has taken to the stage to pay tribute to those we've lost over the last year - including one star who was very dear to his heart.
This year's awards may be full of smiles and joy, with Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis winning their respective Best Supporting awards for their performances in Everything Everywhere All at Once. However, the night's celebrations are also about honoring the stars we've lost over the last year with the 'In Memoriam' part of the evening.
This evening, it was down to John Travolta to take to the stage to introduce the segment, which included a special performance by Lenny Kravitz.
However, it was immediately obvious that the task was a difficult one for the 69-year-old, who lost his beloved friend and Grease co-star Olivia Newton-John in August of last year.
Watch Travolta take to the stage below:
Newton-John and Travolta had undeniable chemistry together and were a huge reason Grease went on to become the highest-grossing musical film ever at the time. Together, they even topped the singles charts with their rendition of 'You're The One That I Want'.
While honoring those we've lost, Travolta took a moment to reference Newton-John's solo Grease song 'Hopelessly Devoted', saying: "They've touched our hearts, they've made us smile, and became dear friends, who we will always remain hopelessly devoted to."
And tonight, Kravitz's performance was a wonderful tribute to those we've lost.
The 58-year-old helped to honor other prominent industry professionals with a performance of his 2004 hit 'Calling All Angels' which social media users described as "beautiful."
"Lenny Kravitz’ Oscar performance tonight was beautiful! Well done," praised one user.
"Lenny Kravitz has the voice of an angel," another added.
Lenny Kravitz’ Oscar performance tonight was beautiful! Well done pic.twitter.com/DtPCNgoXAu
— Judy Borg (@judyaborg) March 13, 2023
Lenny Kravitz has the voice of an angel.
— Dylan Park-Pettiford (@dyllyp) March 13, 2023
Others were slightly less subtle about their personal reactions, but they commended the musician all the same.
Only Lenny Kravitz could make dying sound this sexy!
— Lindsay L Miller (@lindsaylmiller) March 13, 2023
As Kravitz performed, some of the incredible names and faces that adorned our screens included Angela Lansbury, Ray Liotta, Raquel Welch, composer Burt Bacharach, directors Wolfgang Petersen, Bob Rafelson and Jean-Luc Godard.
Following the news of Newton-John's passing, Travolta has taken to social media to pay tribute to his late co-star and friend.
Sharing a photo of a young Newton-John to Instagram, Travolta captioned the post: "My dearest Olivia, you made all of our lives so much better. Your impact was incredible.
"I love you so much. We will see you down the road and we will all be together again. Yours from the first moment I saw you and forever!
"Your Danny, your John!"
Along with Kravitz's song, other stand-out performances of the night included Rihanna and her heartbreaking tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman via her rendition of 'Lift Me Up' and Lady Gaga, who dedicated her emotional performance of 'Hold My Hand' to the late Top Gun director Tony Scott.
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