Lionel Richie had a full-circle moment at the 2026 Academy Awards on Sunday, March 15, when he was chosen to present the Oscar for Best Original Song, exactly 40 years after winning that same award himself. Richie took home the honor in 1986 for “Say You, Say Me,” the hit ballad he wrote for the film White Nights, and his return to the category as a presenter added a strong sense of history to the night.
His appearance also placed him in a rare group of artists who have both won the Oscar for Best Original Song and later presented the award. That list includes Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Barbra Streisand, Burt Bacharach, and the team of Common and John Legend. Common and Legend presented the category in 2016, one year after winning for “Glory” from Selma.
Richie’s role at this year’s ceremony served as a reminder of how lasting some Oscar-winning songs can be. Decades after his own victory, he was still part of one of the biggest moments of the show, linking a past era of film music with the current generation of nominees.
