Expecting to see live performances of the movie tunes nominated for best original song? Well, not this year.

Even though those performances have become a staple of Oscars ceremonies, the academy will break from that tradition this year.

Instead of focusing on the razzle-dazzle (remember last year's surge of “Kenergy?”), the show will spotlight the songwriters and creatives behind the music.

“We will celebrate their artistry through personal reflections from the teams who bring these songs to life. All of this, and more, will uncover the stories and inspiration behind this year’s nominees,” according to academy CEO Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang.

Co-hosting for the second consecutive year, Julianne Hough is not a newbie to the Oscars red carpet show. Ahead of the event at 6:30 p.m. ET, she emphasized the "adrenaline" of speaking to stars before the show.

"I want to be intentional with the questions but also not too serious, because look, we're at the Oscars, we've got to enjoy ourselves and have a good time," Hough told Variety on the red carpet.

Amid the onslaught of controversies, there’s a silver lining to the Oscars this year: There’s a big opportunity for some major history to be made.

Karla Sofía Gascón became the first openly trans actress to receive an Oscar nomination. This year also marks the first time four Latino performers were nominated in Oscar acting categories: Gascón, Zoe Saldaña, Fernanda Torres and Colman Domingo.

Domingo, who was nominated for his portrayal of Bayard Rustin in “Rustin” last year, also has an opportunity to become the first Afro Latino to win the best actor Oscar for his performance in “Sing Sing,” a prison drama that follows incarcerated men who take part in a theater arts rehabilitation program. Meanwhile, Cynthia Erivo, nominated for her portrayal of Elphaba in “Wicked,” has the potential to become the youngest EGOT winner, or winner of an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony.

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In her first interview speaking publicly about “A Complete Unknown,” folk music icon Joan Baez praised Timothée Chalamet’s portrayal of her former flame Bob Dylan.

Though Baez said she remembered the real-life Dylan as a lot scruffier than Chalamet, the film accurately captured how it felt to be around the charismatic young folk musician she remembers.

“I have to come back to that’s how it was,” Baez said. “When he walked into the room, he took up all the oxygen. And so, my part was always diminished in his presence. And in that sense the film is accurate.”

In the same interview, Baez also praised first-time Oscar nominee Monica Barbaro, who played her in the film.

“I loved what she did in the film,” Baez said. “If I didn’t think she was good at it, I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it in general. But she looked enough like me and she had my gestures down. You could tell who it was. She worked so hard. Kudos to her for taking the role on.”

The film is nominated in eight categories.

Roger Stone, the veteran political lobbyist and longtime ally of President Donald Trump, recently took to X to praise Jeremy Strong, who is nominated for his portrayal of Trump mentor Roy Cohn in “The Apprentice.”

“I knew Roy Cohn. Roy Cohn was a friend of mine,” Stone said in a post on Feb. 22, linking to a news article about Strong. “As much as I hate to say it, this guy deserves an Oscar.”

“The Apprentice” stars best actor contender Sebastian Stan as Trump and chronicles the future president’s climb to the top of the Manhattan real estate business in the 1980s. Strong earned positive reviews for his depiction of Cohn, a political fixer and lawyer who counseled Trump.

“Wicked” was a huge 2024 box office success, surpassing the $700 million mark globally and making history as the highest-grossing stage musical adaptation of all time.

The musical film also broke records when it achieved the biggest opening weekend for a Broadway adaptation, making $163 million after it premiered back in November.

Tonight, it's nominated in 10 categories, including best picture.

On the red carpet, "Wicked" choreographer Christopher Scott teased the musical film's highly-anticipated sequel, coming to theaters this November.

“It’s a little darker, but it's epic," Scott told E!. "For the dance, there is a little wonderful moment there."

In what was perhaps the most shocking win of the Golden Globes in January, Demi Moore snagged a statuette for best film actress in a musical or comedy for her leading role in body-horror film “The Substance.”

Moore, the star of “Ghost” and “A Few Good Men,” appeared floored to be honored with the award, acknowledging it’s the first major acting award she has ever received in her storied career. In a powerful acceptance speech, Moore recalled a producer who, 30 years ago, told her she was a “popcorn actress.”

“I made that mean that this wasn’t something I allowed to have. That I could do movies that were successful but that I couldn’t be acknowledged. I bought in, and I believed that,” Moore said.

Tonight, Moore is considered a front-runner in the Oscars best actress category, her first-ever Academy Award nomination.

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Winning an Oscar is one of the most coveted awards in Hollywood. But how does the process work?

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences is made up over over 10,000 members. Those members include actors, writers, directors, costume designers, makeup artists, producers and other film industry professionals. They are the ones who decide who gets nominated and ultimately the winner in each category.

Tour-time Oscars host Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel is making a show of support for his successor Conan O'Brien.

Kimmel posted a photo to Instagram today of him standing next to Oscar the Grouch from “Sesame Street,” holding up a cardboard sign that reads: “Good luck Conan!”

Kimmel hosted the ceremony in 2017, 2018, 2023 and 2024. In August, he weighed in on his decision to pass up the opportunity again, telling the hosts of the “Politickin’” podcast that he's "not good at balancing" his fulltime duties as a Jimmy Kimmel Live! host and the Oscars.

“I’m not good at balancing. I’m really not,” he said. “It’s not one of my strengths. I’m all in when it comes to something like the Oscars. I think about it in the morning and at night, and when I have ideas I want to work on them, and then my nightly show seems like a nuisance. We have all our writers from the show working on the Oscars, so it distracts them. It’s fun to do, and it feels good when it went well, but, for me, just was too much, to do it three years in a row.”