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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Dancers swirled behind her as Auli‘i Cravalho performed “How Far I’ll Go” from the movie “Moana” at the Oscars Sunday.
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Any doubts of just how far Auli‘i Cravalho would go to win over viewers during the 89th Academy Awards were answered when the 16-year-old Kamehameha Schools student took a flag to the back of her head during Sunday night’s live television broadcast.
Cravalho, who voices the title character in Disney’s hit animated movie “Moana,” sang “How Far I’ll Go” alongside Grammy Award-winning songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda, who performed an original rap to open the performance. (Dwayne Johnson, the voice of Maui in “Moana,” introduced the pair.)
Wearing a sleeveless red gown that trailed behind her onstage at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, Cravalho turned in a heartfelt performance — even after a large silk flag attached to what appeared to be a long, lightweight plastic pole struck her as she launched into the song’s second chorus.
Cravalho gamely continued on, barely flinching as she held to her mark onstage and earning a rousing ovation from the Hollywood stars and others in the live audience.
“How Far I’ll Go” was up for the Oscar for best original song but lost to “City of Stars,” by John Paul and Justin Hurwitz. If the song had won, Miranda — the driving force behind the Broadway hit “Hamilton” — would have joined the elusive “EGOT” club with wins at the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards.
“Moana” also lost out to “Zootopia” for best animated feature film.