SOUNDBITES — “Being asked to open the Oscars – Awesome. Rehearsing and performing – Awesome. Reading some of the vitriolic reaction – Not quite so much.” —Neil Patrick Harris tweeting the comedown to his Oscar performance. Whatever. He’s gonna school you on Glee.
backlash
Neil Patrick Harris Hates That You Hated His Oscar Opener
Help make sure LGBTQ+ stories are being told...
We can't rely on mainstream media to tell our stories. That's why we don't lock Queerty articles behind a paywall. Will you support our mission with a contribution today?
Cancel anytime · Proudly LGBTQ+ owned and operated
starshippooper
That opener was not as bad as Rob Lowe singing with Snow White, but it was close, and they also had an awesome time rehearsing too.
Fitz
Who hasn’t learned more from their fuck ups than their successes. It can be a good thing.
strumpetwindsock
At least it was a better effort than that CGI crap they have had in past years.
Jon
I’m thinking that perhaps some people are just jealous that they can’t pull off a sequined tux. I thought the performance was just fine (I would have, however, nixed the “soap drop joke”).
I’m not a big fan of musical numbers, but this was actually one of the highlights of what I thought was one of the most boring/predictable Academy Awards broadcasts I’ve ever seen. And that’s saying that I’ve seen every one since 1964.
Cam
I like neil Patrick Harris, but I did say during the performance. “This is a shame, I wonder if he just can’t sing or if he is just having an off night.” I think right there we see why Madonna, Britney Spears etc… lipsync when they dance in their concerts. I think maintaining a strong singing voice on key while you’re running around is tough. Even more impressed with Braodway actors now!
lise
I think NPH did a fantastic job. The opening act was the best of the night. I think there are so many criticizing Neil just because he makes an incredibly good job when it comes to the gay community and in the same time he is doing so it so incredibly well in the entertainment business.And when it come too visibility,the normalicy of his relationship with David etc, he breaks barriers, time after time – maybe you should think about that and appreciate the job he is doing. And the funnyest and tragic thing is that is often some people and blogs etc in the gay community who is most judgmental when it comes to neil. No matter what he does they required something else from him, or in a diffrent way or etc….Many expect the incredible of him, but is not even willing to support him, only to criticize. Shame on you
only too read the headline of this post is to be sick of – it was not what he wrote at all.He admitted he was slightly wounded by those who wrote harsje comment about it – it is something that shows humility and do not forget that in the end of the day he is human just like the rest of us.
As the old proverb says: Build them up and tear them down!
Gus
He did a decent job of an utterly crap and undifferentiated song.
Maybe it’s just a matter of a lot of people not being clear in their own heads what aspect of it they didn’t like. I’ll still cheer for NPH, but I’m not gonna cheer for material that isn’t worth performing.
RayJ
It wasn’t NPH’s fault. He performed at the Tonys and the Emmys with much raves. For this particular opening number, it was the song that did him and the number in.
Tricky
I love NPH, and I think he did decent enough, especially since he already has a day job.
Dick
I like NPH too, but if you want to open the Oscars with a clever song, bring back Billy Crystal.Don’t blame Neil, he didn’t write the material.
Sam
Yeah, it wasn’t good, but I also don’t think it was NPH’s fault. Oscar writers are pretty atrocious and he’s done much better with better material before.
Was more annoyed by the bizarre score dancing. They got rid of the song performances – where at least people might remember the songs from the movies – to show a bunch of random dances to background music no one knows? WTF?
RS
I first saw it with the sound off (I was in a bar) and it gave me chills. I saw it again with sound and it left me flat. NPH has a lovely voice (I got to see him on Broadway) but the lyrics were pretty banal.
Who are those two guys carrying him in the photo? Gorgeous.
Patty Mouth
It was a rotten song, but he gave it everything he had, so I don’t think NPH can be faulted for its failure. The rest of the show was truly wretched. Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin laid an egg – poor material and no real chemistry between them. It was a tedious and mostly uninteresting show.
DavidGrey
They needed someone who can actually sing and dance at the same time. Neil isn’t the only choice but he gets picked too often purely out of laziness by the producers. Give someone else a shot. Someone who knows how to perform.
fredo777
I didn’t hate it at all. It was silly but fun + I enjoyed it. Feh.
Also, shout out to the cutie that’s holding Neil up in that shot (the one on Neil’s right side). I’m pretty sure he’s ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ contestant Tony Bellissimo from season 5.
Sexy Rexy
He was off-key at times, but kudos to having the stamina to sing strongly and dance at the same time.
Tylertime
He is overexposed on the awards circuit…Tony’s, Emmy’s and now the Oscars. He doesn’t have to say yet to every offer.
Jon
@Tylertime: Some people obviously didn’t get the joke.
Stephen
If you saw the closing number from the Tony’s you know how talented NPH is. That number was still being written minutes before the end of the show. Unfortunately the Oscar’s opener was poorly written. Sometimes no matter how talented an actor is, they can’t rise above lame material and poor staging. (see another true song and dance man Hugh Jackman last year).
hey
@Stephen: Come on Hugh Jackman’s opening number last year was much better than this.
bobito
@Stephen: agree with you about NPH at the Tonys – great performance, brilliant songtext, which he tossed off with very minimal preparation time. And the quality of his singing made it even more impressive. This Oscar number was very weak and the ‘cleverness’ was very strained. When he watches a clip of his performance, if he’s able to be objective about it, he’ll have to admit it was far from his best singing. That happens sometimes when you perform live. But even if a truly amazing vocalist had been singing this song, it wouldn’t have been half as impressive as Neil’s Tonys performance.
jason
Neil Patrick Harris is a great guy and a relaxed and fun individual. He reminds me of the men from the 1930’s and 1940’s – you know, those men of Anglo-Saxon background who don’t mind camping it up for sheer entertainment value. Of the two men who are carrying him, the one at his left looks like Heath Ledger.
MeDontGetIt
I don’ care about Harris. What I want to know is, who are those two hotties holding him!
fredo777
@MeDontGetIt: As i said earlier, the one on Neil’s right side is Tony Bellissimo from So You Think You Can Dance season 5. I’m pretty sure it is, at least.