From The Vault: Aaliyah – ‘Journey To The Past (Live At The Oscars)’

Published: Sunday 26th Feb 2017 by Joe

As Hollywood saddles up for its annual biggest night, we invite you back on a special jaunt with this week’s From The Vault.

Today’s pick is Aaliyah‘s rendition of ‘Journey To The Past’ at the 70th Academy Awards in 1998.

Serviced as a single from 20th Century FOX animated movie ‘Anastasia,’ ‘Journey’ was written by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. Vocally and sonically, it was departure from the brand of edgy R&B the beauty had become renown for.

As much as her vocal abilities have never been looked down upon, this very track allowed the then 19 year old to truly set all the power in her voice free.

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The single never charted in the US, but was a moderate UK hit. Still, all of that chart business didn’t prevent the song from being nominated for both a Golden Globe and an Oscar.

And though James Horner and Celine Dion ended up going home with the prizes for the ‘Titanic’ smash ‘My Heart Will Go On’, it was still an amazing look for Ms Haughton who was, at the time, the youngest artist to ever perform on the Academy stage. And oh did she make it count.

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From this performance, to the reception of her eponymous final record, all signs were pointing toward mega superstardom for this R&B princess.

15 years later, it’s hard to rationalise the loss of such a talent and we can’t stop imagining what the musical landscape would look like had she never left this earth.

Still, there’s some solace to be taken in the fact we still have showings such as this to cherish.

Your thoughts?

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  1. Lala February 26, 2017

    Ha!! And y’all say she would’ve been better than Bey…. her voice was cracking like a house window in a hurricane.

    • MightNate February 26, 2017

      Not like Beys voice was all that sturdy at that age. Plus try being so young performing at one of biggest eventd ever.

  2. Kurtz February 26, 2017

    My fave live performance by her she sounds so heavenly and sweet
    I’ll always miss her may she rest in paradise
    ?
    Gone too soon X

  3. Music & Blunts February 26, 2017

    You can tell that she was nervous lol but towards the middle of the performance she gained confidence and then she shined

  4. Music & Blunts February 26, 2017

    Also tgj you forgot to mention that she became the youngest african american female to perform at the oscars (age 19)

  5. Kemar (@S_C_Jr on Twitter) February 26, 2017

    This might be my most favorite performance of hers. Such a true talent + a beautiful spirit. I remember watching an interview and she was so nervous yet grateful to be a part of such a huge show. Miss her!

  6. Now at youfr best game way tuesidnz February 26, 2017

    Amazing and alot of people do miss her

  7. Mark111 February 26, 2017

    ❤️

  8. truthteller February 27, 2017

    I actually really like this song. It may be from a Disney type movie but Aaliyah’s vocal is gorgeous and the middle 8 gives me goose bumps. Aaliyah was a good example of somebody who wasn’t a powerhouse vocalist, but still had star quality.

  9. Stephy February 27, 2017

    “the youngest artist to ever perform on the Academy stage”
    —-
    Fake News. Michael was the youngest to ever perform

  10. JEC2 February 27, 2017

    Had she lived longer, I have zero doubt she would’ve ended up in the irrelevancy of Monica, Brandy, Ciara, Etc. She had great songs, but really an overrated artist.

    • 310BRIAN February 27, 2017

      The moment she started putting herself out there with the films was when she surpassed Brandy and the others. She found success while being low key so what makes you think she would flop when she was finally achieving mainstream exposure.

    • dee February 27, 2017

      agreed!

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