AWARDS SZN: Everything You Need to Know About the 2022 Oscars

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Regina Hall, Wanda Sykes, and Amy Schumer are on co-hosting duties this year, making this the first time the Oscars have had a host since Jimmy Kimmel in 2018. While this is an incredible opportunity for them, all three of the actresses were fully capable of carrying out this hosting gig by themselves. (This reminds me of Shakira and Jennifer Lopez having to share the Super Bowl halftime show stage in 2020 when they each could have handled it on their own.) Instead of carrying the responsibilities all on their own like all the male hosts before them, they will be taking turns on stage, appearing all together or in pairs.

But alas, we’re surely in for a good time regardless. The actresses have shared that they are going to have fun and let loose, but they’re not looking to be hurtful with their jokes. “I am leading with love,” Sykes told USA TODAY. “It’s going to be a fun night. I know these people, They showered, they got dressed up. They worked hard making these films. I’m not ruining anybody’s night.” Hall feels the same. “They will be part of the joke, they are not the joke,” the Master star told the newspaper. “You want the joke to be something that their best friend would say, but they can still laugh about it.”

It’s been 20 years since the 2002 Academy Awards ceremony where the late Sidney Poitier was given an honorary award, Denzel Washington won the best actor award for Training Day and Halle Berry took home best actress for Monster’s Ball. Two decades later and Washington is up for an award in the same category for his work in The Tragedy of Macbeth against Will Smith. The King Richard actor has been nominated previously in 2007 for The Pursuit of Happyness but has never won a golden statue in any category. That’s a real tragedy there. That’s not surprising, though, given that only four Black actors have taken home the Best Actor trophy in the history of the Oscars. (Poitier won in Lilies of the Field in 1963, Jamie Foxx won in 2004 for Ray, and Forest Whitaker won in 2006 for The Last King of Scotland.) After such an illustrious career, Smith is deserving of this award, especially after portraying Serena and Venus William’s father Richard. If the recent awards he has picked up during this awards SZN are any indication of what’s to come at the Oscars for him, this might just be his year.  

Unfortunately, no Black women are nominated in the Best Actress category this year and no actress has won since Berry in 2002. “It didn’t open the door,” the actress recently told the New York Times. “The fact that there’s no one standing next to me is heartbreaking.” As much as she hoped her win would open doors, she knows awards aren’t the end-all, be-all. “We can’t always judge success or progress by how many awards we have,” she told the newspaper. “Awards are the icing on the cake — they’re your peers saying you were exceptionally excellent this year — but does that mean that if we don’t get the exceptionally excellent nod, that we were not great, and we’re not successful, and we’re not changing the world with our art, and our opportunities aren’t growing?”

The Oscars might be celebrating movies  but music are an integral part of filmmaking. For that reason, and to also make it more entertaining, the award show will feature performances from Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Finneas, Reba McEntire, and Sebastian Yatra, as well as the first live performance of Encanto’s “We Don’t Talk About Bruno.”

The artists will hit the stage to perform this year’s original-song nominees. Beyoncé will sing “Be Alive” from King Richard, and Variety reported that her performance could open the night live via satellite from a tennis court in Compton. Eilish and her brother will perform “No Time to Die” from the James Bond movie of the same title. Yatra will be interpreting Encanto’s “Dos Oruguitas,” written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. McEntire will take on “Somehow You Do,” from Four Good Days. 

It’s been a while since we’ve seen the “Formation” singer perform. She recently made history as the person with the most Grammy wins so it’s natural that she has her eyes set on a new golden trophy. While we don’t know who will take home the award for Best Song, if the Academy is smart, they will give it to the the former Destiny’s Child member. Eilish might have a strong fan base, but nothing compares to the wrath the Beyhive could unleash if Beyoncé doesn’t win. To quote Kanye West, I hope we never know.