
The Weeknd took his best-selling R&B to the 88th Academy Awards on Sunday night (Feb. 28) to perform "Earned It," his Top 10 anthem from Fifty Shades of Grey, and invoked the overt sexuality in the process.
During the Oscars performance, The Weeknd was surrounded by a string ensemble as well as aerialists who made viewers reminisce about Fifty Shades' infamous Red Room. The Weeknd, as always, was as classy as ever, belting out the hit in a slick tuxedo and letting the dancers writhe around him.
Earlier this week, The Weeknd flew across the pond to perform at the BRIT Awards 2016. He also played the GRAMMYs, with a medley of "Can't Feel My Face" and "In The Night," and brought out special guest Lauryn Hill for a duet on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
This is the first Oscar nomination for The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye. "Earned It" is up against Sam Smith's "Writing's on the Wall," Lady Gaga's "Til It Happens To You," Antony Hegarty's "Manta Ray" and David Lang's "Simple Song #3" for the Best Original Song prize at the Academy Awards.
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Leonardo DiCaprio
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'Spotlight'
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Common & John Legend
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Ennio Morricone, Pharrell & Quincy Jones
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Jimmy Napes & Sam Smith
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Brie Larson
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Chris Rock & The Girls Scout Troop
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Chris Rock
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Kevin Hart
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Girl Scouts
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'Star Wars' Robot Droids
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Sam Smith
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In Memoriam
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Andy Serkis
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Stacey Dash
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Sam Smith
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Chris Rock
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Priyanka Chopra & Liev Schreiber
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Sarah Silverman
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Ryan Gosling & Russell Crowe
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The Weeknd
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