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\n\tLionel Richie<\/a> was chosen to present best original song at the 2026 Oscars<\/a> on Sunday (March 15), 40 years after he won the award for writing \u201cSay You, Say Me\u201d from White Nights<\/em>. Richie is one of seven people who won Oscars for best original song and also served as a presenter in the category (obviously not in the same year they won). The others are Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Barbra Streisand<\/a>, Burt Bacharach<\/a>, and the team of Common<\/a> and John Legend<\/a>. The latter team presented in 2016, the year after their win for \u201cGlory\u201d from Selma<\/em>.<\/p>\n \n\tPrince<\/a>, who presented in 2005, never won for best original song, but he did win for his song score to Purple Rain<\/em>. With the 98th Oscars still fresh in our minds, we\u2019re looking back at past Oscar ceremonies, and specifically, who presented the Oscar for best original song each year.<\/p>\n \n\tThe late, great song and dance man Gene Kelly<\/a> did the honors four times, more than anyone else in Oscar history. That\u2019s fitting: Kelly starred in Singin\u2019 in the Rain<\/em>, which topped the American Film Institute\u2019s 2006 list of AFI\u2019s Greatest Movie Musicals. Kelly presented best original song in 1951, in 1975 (in tandem with Shirley MacLaine), in 1980 (with Olivia Newton-John, with whom he starred in the soon-to-be-released, ill-fated musical Xanadu<\/em>) and in 1986 (with his Singin\u2019 in the Rain<\/em>\u00a0costars Debbie Reynolds and Donald O\u2019Connor).<\/p>\n \n\tSix people are tied as runner-up, having presented best original song three times: They are Bacharach, Angie Dickinson, Gregory Hines, Jennifer Lopez<\/a>, Queen Latifah<\/a> and John Travolta<\/a>. J.Lo presented three times within four years (1999-2002), a record for most presenter assignments in the shortest time. (Not coincidentally, J.Lo landed three of her four No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in those years.)<\/p>\n \n\tBacharach and Dickinson, Hollywood\u2019s golden couple of the era, teamed to present the award in 1971 and 1976. Bacharach teamed with Ann-Margret to present the award in 1974. Dickinson teamed with Luciano Pavarotti to present it in 1981.<\/p>\n \n\tThe reunion of the Singin\u2019 in the Rain<\/em>\u00a0cast wasn\u2019t the only cast reunion that Oscar show producers arranged in connection with this category. In 2013, 10 years after Chicago<\/em>\u00a0became the first musical in more than three decades to win best picture, that film\u2019s stars, Renee Zellweger, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah and Catharine Zeta-Jones, presented best original song.<\/p>\n \n\tIn 1988, seven years after they teamed in the box-office hit Arthur<\/em>, Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli co-presented the award (which had gone, in 1982, to \u201cArthur\u2019s Theme\u201d). In 1993, a decade after their collaboration on the Broadway cast album Lena Horne: A Lady and Her Music<\/em>, Quincy Jones and Lena Horne co-presented the award. In 1996, a few years after they co-starred in the Tina Turner biopic What\u2019s Love Got to Do With It<\/em>, Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne co-presented the award.<\/p>\n \n\tIn some cases, Oscar producers had people co-present to plug an upcoming movie in which they were to co-star. Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda co-presented in 2018, months before the release of Mary Poppins Returns<\/em>. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande co-presented in 2024, months ahead of their teaming in Wicked<\/em>.<\/p>\n \n\tIn 2015, Idina Menzel and John Travolta teamed to present the award \u2013 one year after Travolta inexplicably mangled Menzel\u2019s name on the Oscar stage while attempting to introduce her performance of \u201cLet It Go\u201d from Frozen<\/em>. (He called her Adele Dazeem.) In this presentation teaming, Menzel jokingly introduced him as Glom Gazingo \u2013 and they gracefully put it to rest.<\/p>\n \n\tSome presenter pairings held symbolic meaning. In 1989, singer\/dancer\/actor Gregory Hines co-presented with Sammy Davis Jr., the top song and dance man of a previous generation. Davis died of complications from throat cancer in May 1990.<\/p>\n \n\tIn 1944, Dinah Shore became the first woman to present in this category. In 1984, the biracial Jennifer Beals<\/a>, star of the previous year\u2019s smash Flashdance<\/em>, became the first person of color to present in this category. The youngest presenter was Miley Cyrus<\/a>, who was just 17 in 2010 when she co-presented with Amanda Seyfried.<\/p>\n \n\tBacharach and Dickinson weren\u2019t the only married couple to present in the category. Steve Allen and Jayne Meadows presented in 1961, followed by Sonny & Cher in 1973. One parent and child separately presented in this category: In 1997, Goldie Hawn co-presented with her The First Wives Club<\/em> co-stars Bette Midler and Diane Keaton. In 2023, Hawn\u2019s daughter, Kate Hudson, co-presented with Janelle Mon\u00e1e. Hudson is a best actress nominee at the 2026 ceremony.<\/p>\n \n\tPavarotti was the second classical star to present in the category. The first was conductor Leopold Stokowski in 1937.<\/p>\n \n\tHere is the presenter of the Oscar for best original song from the first year it was presented, 1935, to the present. The years shown are the year of the ceremony. Brief identifications are shown in the early years to help our younger readers. After that, you\u2019re on your own.<\/p>\n \n\t1935: Irvin S. Cobb (author)<\/p>\n \n\t1936: Frank Capra (director)<\/p>\n \n\t1937: Leopold Stokowski (conductor)<\/p>\n \n\t1938: Irving Berlin (songwriter)<\/p>\n \n\t1939: Jerome Kern (songwriter)<\/p>\n \n\t1940: Gene Buck (president of ASCAP)<\/p>\n \n\t1941: B.G. DeSylva (songwriter, film producer, co-founder of Capitol Records)<\/p>\n \n\t1942: B.G DeSylva<\/p>\n \n\t1943: Irving Berlin<\/p>\n \n\t1944: Dinah Shore (singer)<\/p>\n \n\t1945: Bob Hope (comedian)<\/p>\n \n\t1947: Van Johnson (actor)<\/p>\n \n\t1948: Dinah Shore<\/p>\n \n\t1949: Kathryn Grayson (actress)<\/p>\n \n\t1950: Cole Porter (songwriter)<\/p>\n \n\t1951: Gene Kelly (actor)<\/p>\n \n\t1952: Donald O\u2019Connor (actor)<\/p>\n \n\t1953: Walt Disney (film producer and entertainment mogul)<\/p>\n \n\t1954: Arthur Freed (lyricist and film producer)<\/p>\n \n\t1955: Bing Crosby (singer)<\/p>\n \n\t1956: Maurice Chevalier (singer)<\/p>\n \n\t1957: Carroll Baker (actress)<\/p>\n \n\t1958: Maurice Chevalier<\/p>\n \n\t1959: Sophia Loren & Dean Martin<\/p>\n \n\t1960: Doris Day<\/p>\n \n\t1961: Steve Allen & Jayne Meadows<\/p>\n \n\t1962: Debbie Reynolds<\/p>\n \n\t1963: Frank Sinatra<\/p>\n \n\t1964: Shirley Jones<\/p>\n \n\t1965: Fred Astaire<\/p>\n \n\t1966: Natalie Wood<\/p>\n \n\t1967: Dean Martin<\/p>\n \n\t1968: Barbra Streisand<\/p>\n \n\t1969: Frank Sinatra<\/p>\n \n\t1970: Candice Bergen<\/p>\n \n\t1971: Burt Bacharach & Angie Dickinson<\/p>\n \n\t1972: Joel Grey<\/p>\n \n\t1973: Sonny & Cher<\/p>\n \n\t1974: Burt Bacharach & Ann-Margret<\/p>\n \n\t1975: Gene Kelly & Shirley MacLaine<\/p>\n \n\t1976: Burt Bacharach & Angie Dickinson<\/p>\n \n\t1977: Neil Diamond<\/p>\n \n\t1978: Fred Astaire<\/p>\n \n\t1979: Ruby Keeler & Kris Kristofferson<\/p>\n \n\t1980: Gene Kelly & Olivia Newton-John<\/p>\n \n\t1981: Angie Dickinson & Luciano Pavarotti<\/p>\n \n\t1982: Bette Midler<\/p>\n \n\t1983: Olivia Newton-John<\/p>\n \n\t1984: Jennifer Beals, Matthew Broderick<\/p>\n \n\t1985: Gregory Hines<\/p>\n \n\t1986: Gene Kelly, Donald O\u2019Connor & Debbie Reynolds<\/p>\n \n\t1987: Bernadette Peters<\/p>\n \n\t1988: Liza Minnelli & Dudley Moore<\/p>\n \n\t1989: Sammy Davis Jr. & Gregory Hines<\/p>\n \n\t1990: Paula Abdul & Dudley Moore<\/p>\n \n\t1991: Gregory Hines & Ann-Margret<\/p>\n \n\t1992: Shirley MacLaine & Liza Minnelli<\/p>\n \n\t1993: Lena Horne & Quincy Jones<\/p>\n \n\t1994: Whitney Houston<\/p>\n \n\t1995: Sylvester Stallone<\/p>\n \n\t1996: Angela Bassett & Laurence Fishburne<\/p>\n \n\t1997: Goldie Hawn, Diane Keaton & Bette Midler<\/p>\n \n\t1998: Madonna<\/p>\n \n\t1999: Jennifer Lopez<\/p>\n \n\t2000: Cher<\/p>\n \n\t2001: Jennifer Lopez<\/p>\n \n\t2002: Jennifer Lopez<\/p>\n \n\t2003: Barbra Streisand<\/p>\n \n\t2004: Jack Black & Will Ferrell<\/p>\n \n\t2005: Prince<\/p>\n \n\t2006: Queen Latifah<\/p>\n \n\t2007: John Travolta & Queen Latifah<\/p>\n \n\t2008: John Travolta<\/p>\n \n\t2009: Zac Efron & Alicia Keys<\/p>\n \n\t2010: Miley Cyrus & Amanda Seyfried<\/p>\n \n\t2011: Jennifer Hudson<\/p>\n \n\t2012: Will Ferrell & Zach Galifianakis<\/p>\n \n\t2013: Richard Gere, Queen Latifah, Ren\u00e9e Zellweger & Catherine Zeta-Jones<\/p>\n \n\t2014: Jessica Beal & Jamie Foxx<\/p>\n \n\t2015: Idina Menzel & John Travolta<\/p>\n \n\t2016: Common & John Legend<\/p>\n \n\t2017: Scarlett Johansson<\/p>\n \n\t2018: Emily Blunt & Lin-Manuel Miranda<\/p>\n \n\t2019: Gal Gadot, Brie Larson & Sigourney Weaver<\/p>\n \n\t2021: Zendaya<\/p>\n \n\t2022: Jake Gyllenhaal & Zo\u00eb Kravitz<\/p>\n \n\t2023: Kate Hudson & Janelle Mon\u00e1e<\/p>\n \n\t2024: Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande<\/p>\n \n\t2025: Mick Jagger<\/p>\n \n\t2026: Lionel Richie<\/p>\n
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