Here’s What Judy Garland’s Daughter Thought Of Ariana Grande Singing ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’
Lorna Luft shares her reaction to Ariana Grande’s emotional Oscars tribute to her mother
Ariana Grande showed off her breathtaking vocals at the 97th Annual Academy Awards on Sunday when she performed her own rendition of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow,” a song made famous by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz (1939). After her performance, Garland’s daughter, Lorna Luft, shared her thoughts.
“Thank you to @arianagrande, @cynthiaerivo, & @theacademy for honoring my mother’s memory so beautifully,” Luft wrote on her Instagram Stories. “Myself and my family are very grateful. All Love, Lorna.” See the full performance below.
Why did Ariana Grande perform ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’ at the Oscars?
Grande put on an incredible performance at the Oscars, choosing to do her own version of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow.” The actress and singer, who recently stole hearts with her role as Glinda in the new film, Wicked (2024), sang the song from the movie’s predecessor, Wizard of Oz, which honored the woman who made it famous, Judy Garland.
She was then joined on stage by her Wicked co-star, Cynthia Erivo, to perform the song “Home” from the 1975 Broadway musical, The Wiz. The two later joined together to perform their smash hit, “Defying Gravity.”
Ariana Grande’s ruby red look paid homage to Dorothy’s slippers
Grande’s dress also was a nod to Judy Garland’s character, which was a sparkly, ruby red gown with red tulle, just like Garland’s ruby red slippers in the classic movie. The dress was paired with matching ruby red slippers, along with a third shoe placed between her shoulder blades on the back of the gown. The look was designed by Daniel Roseberry and featured 150,000 Siam sequins.
Ariana Grande’s special connection to ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’
You may be thinking you’ve heard Grande belt out the lyrics to “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” before and you’d be right. The singer performed the song at her One Love Manchester performance, a benefit concert organized after the attacks at Grande’s concert in Manchester Arena in 2017.
While she opted to perform most of her own songs at the benefit concert, Grande also chose to sing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” which has a special place in her heart.
One year after the attacks, Grande opened up about the reason she chose the song, explaining it was her grandfather’s favorite.
“He would always tell me to sing it in my concerts,” Grande explained. “He would always say, ‘You know what you should end with? “Over the Rainbow.”’ And I never did it until that moment. When I was getting ready to do it, I was thinking about him, and I felt his presence so heavily around me. He was the person I was closest to in my life.” See Grande’s 2017 performance of the song below.
Now that Grande has made waves with her role in the Wizard of Oz spinoff film, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” has made a comeback and has another special meaning for Grande.
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