Ann Reinking's 1985 Oscar Performance

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 9:06am

I'm just gonna put this here...

[broadwaytbay]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 9:32am

ok. well that happened. the dancing yes, the dancing is lovely.

[Melissa25]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 9:35am

OMG. Double OMG.
Just when you think it couldn't get any .....
That ending!!!!!!
Thanks JC.

[Jamie Pierce]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 9:39am

That certainly wasn't as terrible as I've always heard. I mean, hey it was the 80's! That's what you did! You can't say she didn't dance spectacularly.

[The Other One]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 10:14am

This was an unfortunate example of Oscar's need for a production number getting in the way of the song itself. It needed a good, strong pop singer, who cared about the words being sung and could navigate its melody, and that ain't what it got.

The look on Phil Collins' face when the camera cut to him said it all. It is not shown on this video, but if you watched the Oscars that year you probably remember it.

Updated On: 11/30/14 at 10:14 AM

[Jamie Pierce]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 10:25am

"We are talking to Phil Collins' people..."

[east side story]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 10:33am

That ending is pure magic.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 10:55am

Oh man. YouTube is a mixed blessing for performers.

[ljay889]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 11:13am

Honestly, I've always enjoyed her voice. It wasn't THAT bad.

[lovebwy]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 12:41pm

This performance is really par for the course of Oscar song performances back then.

The reason it is remembered is because Phil Collins had made several appeals to the Academy to be able to sing the song himself, but was refused. So he went to the press, who sided with him.

This put Ann in a pretty awkward situation, and that certainly didn't help her performance.

She isn't great on vocals there, but it isn't a train wreck or anything. And the dancing is nice. They should have let Collins sing his song with Reinking and that dude dancing off to the side.

[undercoveractor]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 12:47pm

This doesn't live up to the legend....I had always heard that it was jaw dropping in its' awfulness, and this while not good, just didn't make my jaw drop. Liked the dancing, did not like the singing or the pairing of singer/song, but still not as bad as some of those Debbie Allen numbers.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 9:38pm

She's better at the end of the song, when she's singing full throttle, than she is at the beginning, when she's being reserved.

But Gary Chryst makes it ART.

[theeatah]

Posted: 12/1/14 at 5:54pm

That's quite a feat to get the lyrics wrong on a pre-recorded vocal.

[fbueller]

Posted: 2/27/17 at 11:54am

Dance 10, Singing -3

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 2/27/17 at 1:32pm

At least she was using her own voice, however weak, back then. I guess she inherited her current sound from the Gwen Verdon estate.

[Fergalicious]

Posted: 2/27/17 at 8:05pm

GavestonPS said: "At least she was using her own voice, however weak, back then. I guess she inherited her current sound from the Gwen Verdon estate.

 

She inherited more than her voice from Gwen Verdon's estate honey....

 

Updated On: 2/27/17 at 08:05 PM

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 3/10/17 at 1:51pm

That was even worse than I had imagined, and I'm one of those who thought people were being harsh on her singing for Chicago. 

[Babe_Williams]

Posted: 3/10/17 at 1:58pm

That...was something. Oddly enough, it makes me miss the 80s.