Oscars 2018: Watch Common and Andra Day Perform “Stand Up for Something”
At the 2018 Academy Awards tonight, Common and Andra Day teamed up for a performance of their Marshall soundtrack contribution “Stand Up for Something.” They were introduced by Dave Chappelle. Common started out the performance with a short passage: “Immigrants get the benefits/Let’s put up monuments for the feminists.” He continued, “Tell the NRA, they’re in God’s way/And to the people of Parkland, we say ‘Ase’/Sentiments for the people from Africa/Haiti to Puerto Rico.” Later on in the song, he rapped a verse that mentioned Donald Trump and the recent take-a-knee NFL protests. “A knee we take for our soul’s sake... A president, we chose from hate/He don’t control our fate because God is great.” Watch it all go down below.
Common and Day were joined on stage by 10 activists: Alice Brown Otter, Bana Alabed, Bryan Stevenson, Cecile Richards, Dolores Huertas, Janet Mock, José Andrés, Nicole Hockley, Patrisse Cullors, and Tarana Burke. “I am truly honored to share the stage with such powerful people,” Day said in a statement. “People who work, sacrifice and have fought through their personal pain to make the world a better place. Everyone's contribution is important, but Common and I wanted to show people who are working everyday in the trenches to transform perceptions, circumstances, legislation, social and political landscapes, and bring hope to the hopeless.”
The track was nominated for Best Original Song alongside Sufjan Stevens’ “Mystery of Love” (Call Me By Your Name), Miguel’s rendition of “Remember Me” (Coco), Mary J. Blige’s “Mighty River,” and others. It marks Marshall’s only Oscar nod. Miguel, Mary J. Blige, and Sufjan Stevens took the stage earlier tonight.
Follow Pitchfork’s coverage of this year’s Oscars.
