Dua Lipa Performed at Sir Elton John’s Virtual AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Pre-Party

These days, show business’s age-old maxim feels more relevant than ever: The show must go on. So too does the fight against HIV/AIDS, which is why the Elton John AIDS Foundation, which debuted in 1992, took its famed annual Oscars party online, to host its first-ever virtual Academy Awards Viewing Party. 

The ever-reliable, eternally youthful Neil Patrick Harris acted as the tuxedoed master of ceremonies for an hour-long pre-show special with Sir Elton John and David Furnish as the glittering hosts. Amidst an intimate setting, the iconic singer and his filmmaker husband, who joined in from London’s Rosewood Hotel, recalled the early days of the foundation and the staggering amounts of money they managed to raise over the years (more than $450 million, to which they could add an additional $3 million by the end of the night!). The virtual concert part of the event kicked off with a performance by Dua Lipa, who sang her scintillating hit “Levitating” and crescendoed with a world exclusive duet between her and Sir Elton John. Together, they performed “Benny and the Jets” as well as “Love Again.”

For a brief moment, Harris reminded us of the seriousness of things when he introduced special guest, Dr. Anthony Fauci, quipping: “You know it’s been a terrible year, when half the country can name the head of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.” Together with Lady Gaga, Cynthia Erivo, Elizabeth Hurley, the cast of HBO’s hit show It’s a Sin, Fauci asked the audience for help in fighting the AIDS pandemic—and audience donations kept rolling in all night long. It would not have been a proper virtual event without a “best-dressed from the waist up” competition (tuxedo tops and pajama bottoms) and some minor technical glitches, which Sir Elton John shrugged off: “This is the only way to do it, so we are doing it!” 

For the later stages of the evening, California-based Eric McCormack of Will & Grace-fame took over and could announce that the virtual event’s donation goal (which was $3 million) had been reached long before the Academy named their Best Actress or Best Actor (which was Frances McDormand and Anthony Hopkins—in case you missed it).