Well, that was possibly the weepiest, dreamiest opening in Oscars history.
The 2025 Academy Awards ceremony began with Ariana Grande giving a passionate rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz. Her Wicked co-star, Cynthia Erivo, joined her to belt out the epic anthem “Defying Gravity.”
Grande wore a Schiaparelli strapless ruby red dress for the occasion. In a nod to the iconic red slippers worn by Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, the form-fitting dress was covered in sparkles. It also featured a dramatic tulle detail that wrapped around the hips. But perhaps the most wonderful piece of all? When Grande turned to her side, she revealed that the back of the dress was designed to look like a literal slipper—like one of Dorothy’s famous shoes had magically grown into a dress. After all, strange things happened in Oz. Grande paired the dress with a pair of matching ruby shoes—naturally.
Getty
Getty
Grande’s red dress marks a departure from her slew of pink Glinda-fied red carpet looks. Earlier in the evening, Grande had walked the Oscars red carpet in a floating gown by Schiaparelli with a whimsical wavy peplum and a tulle skirt covered in 190,000 crystal sequins and rhinestones. She also gave a nod to Glinda at last year’s Oscar Awards where she wore a bright pink bubble gown.
Getty
It’s no secret that Grande was thrilled to land the role of Glinda in Wicked—as she has explained in numerous interviews, she was obsessed with the Broadway musical as a child and dreamed of one day playing the Good Witch of the North. It’s safe to say that singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” at the Oscars is another item ticked off her bucket list. As she told The Hollywood Reporter earlier this year, The Wizard of Oz was the first movie that made her “want to make movies”. “I just remember studying Judy Garland [who played Dorothy] and being so in love with her performance,” she said.
