Chrissy Metz made her Oscars debut Sunday night, but she wasn’t on the stage to present or accept an award.
Instead the actress stepped up to sing one of the Academy Award nominated songs — and to leave the audience in the Dolby Theatre cheering her performance.
Metz, who’s best known for her role in the beloved small screen drama “This Is Us,” stars in the big screen Christian drama “Breakthrough” and sang “I’m Standing With You” from the film’s soundtrack.
The ballad is up for best original song, against stiff competition in the form of tracks from “Rocketman,” “Frozen 2,” “Toy Story 4” and “Harriet,” and if it takes Oscar gold, it’ll mean the first win for songwriter and 11-time nominee Diane Warren.
But whether the inspirational song earns the award or not, the performance itself was a big win for Metz, who’s far from a veteran when it comes to live performances.
In fact, her very first time singing in front of a live audience came less than one year ago, when she was joined by Carrie Underwood and other hit-makers for the same tune at the 2019 Academy of Country Music Awards.
On Oscar night, Metz added an extra line to end of her moving performance: “I love you, mom.”
When the music ended, the camera panned to Warren in the audience, who had tears in her eyes as she applauded the multitalented star on the stage.