Introduction
Barbra Streisand came back from retirement to give her most heartbreaking performance, paying tribute to her late friend and Hollywood legend Robert Redford at the 2026 Oscars. Barbra shared a touching story about the pair’s love for each other in the years after their iconic onscreen romance in The Way We Were. She then sang the title song from the hit film with Robert shown on the screen behind her, and many fans couldn’t help but tear up watching her sing.
Barbra’s love for her dear friend came through so strongly in her speech and performance. Her performance of “The Way We Were” was so beautiful, and you could tell she was singing straight from the heart. She quit touring in 2017, and it says so much about how much Robert meant to her that she would come back for this. The Music Man loves to see Barbra performing again, although if only it weren’t under such tragic circumstances.
Barbra performed at the 98th Academy Awards on March 15, 2026, and she uploaded her performance to YouTube six days later. Viewers loved to see Barbra come back, and added comments such as “That was one spectacular tribute. I can’t believe she sang. That was from her heart” and “I was shocked when she started singing because I had read that she had sworn off singing in public ever again. When she started singing I was screaming at the TV ‘She’s singing, she’s singing!!’ and started crying. It was so moving.”
One of The Music Man’s favorite Barbra performances is her rendition of “The Way We Were” for the One Voice benefit concert in 1986. Seeing Barbra firing on all cylinders at the height of her powers is really something. What a velvety and classy voice. The emotion that she brings to the performance is so touching, and she really takes the listener on a journey. It’s surely one of the greatest romance songs ever.
Barbra and Robert played the leading roles as lovers in the 1973 box office hit romantic drama The Way We Were. Their onscreen chemistry charmed viewers, and the film made $50 million off a $5 million budget. The film won two Academy Awards, for Best Original Dramatic Score and Best Original Song for “The Way We Were,” which Barbra issued as a single. Barbra and Robert were never a couple in real life, but it’s well known she developed a bit of a thing for him during filming. She has since described her former co-star in glowing terms such as “handsome” and “charismatic, intelligent, intense, always interesting.”