David Byrne took the stage alongside Stephanie Hsu and Son Lux to perform the Oscar-nominated song “This Is a Life” from Everything Everywhere All at Once. Though Mitski sang the track for the movie, Hsu filled in for her, and proved she was up for the task. Meanwhile, the songwriter and producer offered more than we’d hoped for during their performance. While both wore all white, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Byrne sported the film’s trademark hot dog hands, which added to the most bizarre musical bit the Oscars have seen. Which is appropriate, given the song is from Everything Everywhere All At Once.
On Twitter, one person wrote, “i personally don’t understand how you could be mad at a movie that got David Byrne to sing a beautiful original song at the Oscars with hot dog hands on but you do you!!”
i personally don’t understand how you could be mad at a movie that got David Byrne to sing a beautiful original song at the Oscars with hot dog hands on but you do you!!
— david ehrlich (@davidehrlich) March 13, 2023
As one fan put it, “No matter what else happens, we’ll always have hot dog hand David Byrne.”
No matter what else happens, we’ll always have hot dog hand David Byrne.
— Dan McCoy (@dankmccoy) March 13, 2023
This isn’t the first time the former Talking Heads frontman showed up on television to confuse everyone. For this past Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party, he sang with the host his 2018 song, “Everybody’s Coming to My House.” Cyrus also covered David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” with Byrne. Both performances were accompanied by a band, complete with a brass section, keyboardists, guitarists and backup vocalists.