Even if Justin Timberlake doesn’t take home his first Oscar tonight (Feb. 26), he can leave knowing he completely dominated the Oscars stage.
Opening the show with his Trolls? track — and best original song nominee — “Can’t Stop the Feeling!,” Timberlake brought the crowd to their feet right off the bat and began the night with a bang (even giving his former Mickey Mouse Club? cohort Ryan Gosling a hug along the way).
Starting the performance in the front corridor of the Dolby Theatre and dancing his way down the stairs to the stage, Timberlake continued the grooving with a hoard of backup dancers behind him. He even put a new spin on the chart-topping tune, adding in slight variations in his vocals as well as an R&B breakdown — including a little Bill Withers “Lovely Day” excerpt.
After delivering quite the crowd-pleasing, colorful performance, Timberlake ended his show opener in perhaps the most adorable way possible: a sweet smooch with wife Jessica Biel (cue the awws).
