Music
2 min read
Don’t miss Hollywood insider Anthony Breznican’s coverage of the 2026 Academy Awards.
Before starring in Sinners, actor Miles Caton reportedly learned how to play the guitar in just two-months. I can barely turn off my morning alarm after already hitting snooze twice. But I’m sure Caton’s teacher is booked with lessons for eternity now that the film is the most nominated movie in Oscars history, because Caton may have just broken the record for the shortest time spent between picking up an instrument and performing at the Academy Awards.
Caton took to the stage at the 2026 Oscar Awards on Sunday night alongside Buddy Guy and Raphael Saadiq to perform their nominated song, “I Lied to You,” which is at the center of one of Sinners‘s most celebrated scenes. They were joined by Misty Copeland, Brittany Howard, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Shaboozey, and Bobby Rush to translate the film’s celebrated musical number to the Oscars stage. Much like in the film, dancers from various cultures and decades paraded on the stage as the camera swung around for viewers at home. It’s a shame that the song is up against an army of K-Pop fans tonight, because it was sick as hell.
“I remember reading that on the page and my jaw dropped,” film composer Ludwig Göransson told me about the moment he read about the musical scene in the script. “I’ve had moments onstage where I get in a trance, but I’ve never seen it written down. I thought, How the hell are we going to do this?”
Music is a massive through line in Ryan Coogler’s vampire thriller, which features Michael B. Jordan in a dual role as two brothers who hope to bring a classic juke joint back home to 1930’s Mississippi. As Caton plays his guitar, he summons figures of music’s past and future to play together in concert. Oh, and they literally burn the roof off the damn joint.
If you haven’t seen Sinners yet (what are you doing?), Sunday night’s performance was a nice homage to the film’s most magical scene. But all in all, it’s the ultimate homecoming for Caton. I can’t wait to see what the talented newcomer does next.