Posted by Michael Barthel on 03/01/2011 at 12:41 PM Videos

The Popdust Files: covers, katy perry, oprah, oscars, ps 22 chorus, russell brand, sesame street

As much as there was to despise about the Oscars this year, the show-ending performance of “Over the Rainbow” by the fifth-grade chorus of Staten Island’s P.S. 22, with all the winners walking out behind them, was pretty special, in no small part because the kids seemed so excited and uninhibited. They stuck around for Oprah’s Oscar after-party to sing “Firework,” and Katy Perry joined them halfway through the first verse, which was a genuine surprise given how Russell Brand kept insisting she was on tour. Somehow, though, it was a little less special (even with ACTUAL EXPLOSIONS on-stage). The focus is more on Perry than the kids, and her vocals are mixed much higher, so it becomes like a mash-up that doesn’t entirely gel. I guess we should be grateful Katy wore an age-appropriate dress.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXLaWe5m9hc&feature=player_embedded