Jon Batiste Performs “It Never Went Away” At 2024 Oscars

Poised at the piano, Jon Batiste delivered a touching performance of “It Never Went Away” at the 2024 Oscars.

The personal song is featured in the documentary American Symphony, the acclaimed feature chronicling the New Orleans native’s career and personal life. “It Never Went Away” is also nominated this evening for Best Original Song.

“I hope it’ll be a beacon for a lot of artists” explained the 37-year-old of the doc to Billboard. “I fear that when people are successful, especially in a public sense, it creates an illusion of ease. I don’t ever want to make anyone feel lesser, or any artist feel like because they’re struggling in this crazy business with their mental state and fortitude that they’re not just like everybody else.”

The full description for American Symphony per Netflix reads as follows:

“In 2022, musician Jon Batiste finds himself the most celebrated artist of the year with eleven Grammy nominations including Album of the Year. In the midst of that triumph Jon embarks on his most ambitious challenge to date, composing an original symphony. This trajectory was upended when Batiste’s life partner — best-selling author Suleika Jaouad — learns that her long-dormant cancer has returned. AMERICAN SYMPHONY is an intimate portrait of two artists at a crossroads and a meditation on art, love, and the creative process.”

Watch the trailer for American Symphony below and check out Jon Batiste performing “It Never Went Away” at the 2024 Oscars above.