Did the Oscars watch the Grammys this year?
That was one way to look at the wild — and undoubtedly conversation-starting — conclusion to Sunday’s 89th Academy Awards, in which presenter Faye Dunaway accidentally named “La La Land” best picture before her co-presenter, Warren Beatty, realized that “Moonlight” had in fact won the film industry’s most coveted prize.
The mix-up recalled this month’s Grammy Awards, which ended with a similar jolt when Adele said she couldn’t rightfully accept the trophy for album of the year since it meant she was taking it from Beyoncé.
In an increasingly crowded awards-show scene, it’s dramatic moments like these that producers value above all others.
And the Oscars definitely needed such a jolt.
Full coverage: 2017 Academy Awards »
Though the show featured plenty of real-deal pop stars — including Justin Timberlake, John Legend, Sting and Sara Bareilles — the musical portion of this year’s Oscars was mostly a snoozefest.
In part that may have been because the two musical categories — original score and original song — felt like a such a lock going into Sunday’s event.
As widely expected, “La La Land” took those two prizes — no surprise, given the movie musical’s recycling of a burnished Old Hollywood sound practically designed to appeal to aging film academy members.
Yet it wasn’t merely a lack of suspense that drained the energy from the show (at least until that unpredictable “Moonlight” finale).
The Oscars seemed also to emphasize a cool professionalism over the kind of heated spontaneity that can define a transcendent performance — especially at a moment as politically charged as this one.
Timberlake tried his best to kick things into gear with his opening performance of “Can’t Stop the Feeling,” from the animated movie “Trolls.” And any music fan had to appreciate his interpolation of a bit of Bill Withers’ “Lovely Day,” whose bass line “Can’t Stop the Feeling” all but borrows.
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Presenter Warren Beatty and host Jimmy Kimmel try to explain to the audience how the wrong envelope for best picture was read on stage during the Academy Awards telecast on Feb. 26. In background are “Moonlight” writer/director Barry Jenkins, left and “La La Land” producer Jordan Horowitz embracing.
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Presenter Warren Beatty tries to explain to the audience how the wrong envelope for best picture was read onstage during the Academy Awards telecast on Feb. 26.
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“La La Land” producer Jordan Horowitz holds up the winner card for best picture. His film had been read as the winner, but the actual winner was “Moonlight.”
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The audience at the Dolby Theatre is stunned after the best picture award is mistakenly announced as “La La Land” instead of “Moonlight” during the 89th Academy Awards.
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Presenter Warren Beatty and host Jimmy Kimmel try to explain to the audience how the wrong envelope for best picture was read onstage during the Academy Awards telecast on Feb. 26. At right are “Moonlight” writer/director Barry Jenkins, left, and “La La Land” producer Jordan Horowitz embracing.
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Warren Beatty attempts to explain how “La La Land” was mistakenly announced as the best picture winner instead of “Moonlight.” (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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“La La Land” producer Jordan Horowitz, with Warren Beatty and host Jimmy Kimmel, after the mistaken annoucement that “La La Land” had won. “Moonlight” was the actual best picture winner.
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Fred Berger, foreground center, and the cast of “La La Land” mistakenly accept the award for best picture at the Oscars.
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Accountants for Price Waterhouse Coopers take the correct envelope onto the stage after the best-picture mixup.
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Barry Jenkins holds up a best picture Oscar for “Moonlight.” (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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From left, “Moonlight” writer/director Barry Jenkins, and producers Adele Romanski and Jeremy Kleiner accept the Oscar for best picture during the Academy Awards telecast on Feb. 26.
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Janelle Monae reacts onstage after “Moonlight” won for best picture during the Academy Awards telecast on Feb. 26.
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“La La Land” producer Fred Berger, left, congratulates actor Mahershala Ali onstage after it was announced that “Moonlight” won for best picture.
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“Moonlight” actor Ashton Sanders is stunned after the movie won for best picture during the Academy Awards telecast on Feb. 26.
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“Moonlight” writer/director Barry Jenkins holds the Oscar for best picture during the Academy Awards telecast on Feb. 26.
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Mahershala Ali and Ryan Gosling backstage after it was announced that “Moonlight” won for best picture during the Academy Awards telecast on Feb. 26.
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“Moonlight” actors Andre Holland, left, and Ashton Sanders backstage during the Academy Awards telecast on Feb. 26.
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“Moonlight” actors Andre Holland, left, and Ashton Sanders backstage during the Academy Awards telecast on Feb. 26.
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Barry Jenkins, center, and the cast and crew of “Moonlight,” which won the Oscar for best picture.
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Trevante Rhodes hugs Mahershala Ali after “Moonlight” was correctly identified as the winner of best picture.
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The cast and crew of “Moonlight” receives their best picture award after a chaotic mixup.
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Presenter Faye Dunaway backstage at the Academy Awards.
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Ryan Gosling learns that his film, “La La Land,” did not win the best picture Oscar.
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Producer Ezra Edelman takes a photo of his statue as it is being engraved after winning for his documentary, “OJ: Made in America.”
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Presenters Michael J. Fox (left) and Seth Rogen (right) flank John Gilbert (center), who won a film editing Oscar for “Hacksaw Ridge.”
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Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones, Dan Lemmon and Robert Legato pose with their visual effects Oscars for “The Jungle Book.”
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Presenters Kate McKinnon (left) and Jason Bateman (right) flank Christopher Nelson, Giorgio Gregorian and Alessandro Bertolazzi, who won Oscars for makeup and hairstyling.
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“La La Land” star Emma Stone on stage with Leonardo DiCaprio after she won the Oscar for lead actress.
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Casey Affleck after he won lead actor for “Manchester by the Sea” during the telecast of the 89th Academy Awards.
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Damien Chazelle accepts the award for best director for “La La Land” from Halle Berry.
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Host Jimmy Kimmel tweets that “#Merylsayshi” at President Trump.
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John Legend performs during the telecast of the 89th Academy Awards.
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Surprised tourists brought to the Oscars chat with celebrities in the front row.
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Mahershala Ali, right, hands his Oscar to a tourist named Gary who was brought into the theater with others as a surprise.
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Denzel Washington, center right, “marries” an engaged couple during a surprise visit of a Hollywood tour bus group during the telecast of the 89th Academy Awards.
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Sting performs.
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Engineer and astronaut Anousheh Ansari, right, and former NASA scientist Firouz Naderi with the award for best foreign language film for “The Salesman.” They accepted on behalf of director Asghar Farhadi.
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Charlize Theron, left, and Shirley MacLaine.
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Mahershala Ali, left, and Viola Davis, winners for best supporting actor and actress.
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Viola Davis accepts the Oscar for supporting actress during the telecast of the 89th Academy Awards.
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Viola Davis, winner of the award for best supporting actress, kisses Julius Tennon.
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Dwayne Johnson sings a bit of “You’re Welcome” from “Moana” during the Oscars telecast.
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Kevin O’Connell, left, and Andy Wright accept the award for best sound mixing for “Hacksaw Ridge.”
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Janelle Monae, Katherine Johnson, Taraji P. Henson and Octavia Spencer.
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Lin-Manuel Miranda raps during the telecast of the 89th Academy Awards.
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Auli’i Cravalho sings “How Far I’ll Go” from “Moana” during the telecast of the 89th Academy Awards.
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Producer Caroline Waterlow and director Ezra Edelman, winners for best documentary feature.
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Mahershala Ali wins for best supporting actor.
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Alicia Vikander, left, presents Mahershala Ali with the award for best supporting actor.
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Host Jimmy Kimmel
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Host Jimmy Kimmel
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Justin Timberlake performs to open the show.
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Justin Timberlake performs during the telecast of the 89th Academy Awards.
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Scarlett Johansson and date Joe Machota of CAA arrive at the 89th Academy Awards.
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Mayor Eric Garcetti makes an L.A. hand signal.
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Justin Timberalke and Jessica Biel arrive at the Oscars.
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Halle Berry on the red carpet.
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Sunny Pawar of “Lion” during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards.
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Chef Wolfgang Puck presents Oscars cuisine during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards.
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Chrissy Teigen and John Legend.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) But overall, Timberlake’s performance felt a bit too careful, as though he were (still!) trying to convince a roomful of grown-ups that he’s more than a teen-pop survivor — something his many successes (in both music and movies) should have done years ago.
A similar eagerness coursed through Auli’i Cravalho’s performance of “How Far I’ll Go,” the inspirational power ballad written by Lin-Manuel Miranda for the animated “Moana.”
But because her vocal was so beautifully assured — and because the 16-year-old is, y’know, an actual teen — you could forgive the stage-school polish.
Sting didn’t bring much to his performance of “The Empty Chair” — not even an empty chair.
Rather, the veteran English singer stood simply with an acoustic guitar and delivered his and composer J. Ralph’s tender folk ballad from “Jim: The James Foley Story,” about the journalist killed by members of the Islamic State in Syria in 2014.
A quote from Foley did flash across the screen at the end of the song in a seeming reference to President Trump’s combative attitude toward some journalists.
“If I don’t have the moral courage to challenge authority,” the words read, “we don’t have journalism.”
It was one of the night’s few moments of political expression from a big Hollywood star.
That left creamy-voiced crooner Legend to finish off the evening’s music with his rendition of two songs from “La La Land” (in which he plays a small role).
Some of the criticism sent that film’s way has had to do with the casting of two nonsingers in Emma Stone (who won the Oscar for lead actress) and Ryan Gosling.
And, sure enough, Legend made clear he could sing, showing off a range considerably wider than both actors’ put together.
But he also milked the emotion of “City of Stars” (which won original song) and “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” in a way that made each feel slightly glib, as though he were showing off to his show-business peers rather than tapping into “La La Land’s” childish if well-meaning ideas about ambition and inspiration.
If only he’d known what was to come, Legend might’ve mustered some real feeling.
mikael.wood@latimes.com
Twitter: @mikaelwood
ALSO:
PHOTOS: On the red carpet at the Academy Awards
Politics speak at numerous volumes on Oscar night
What actually happened backstage at the Oscars during the ‘La La Land’/’Moonlight’ mixup
Academy Awards 2017: Complete list of Oscar winners and nominees
