With this year’s Oscars finally done and dusted, the glitz and glamour of the awards season slowly begins to fade from our minds. Last Sunday’s Academy Awards were particularly tame, with few drunk celebrities to speak of and a rather vanilla and tiring host (sorry, Neil Patrick Harris…we may all be over you now). However, that doesn’t mean that there weren’t a few surprises, upsets or jaw-dropping performances among the sleepier—looking at you, Rita Ora. Here are some of the best moments from the 2015 Oscars.

Lady Gaga

Aside from an honorable mention for Tegan and Sara, The Lonely Island and friends (including Questlove and Will Arnett as Batman) taking the stage to perform “Everything is Awesome” from “The Lego Movie” and remind us all of the terrible folly the Academy made in not nominating it for Best Animated Movie, Lady Gaga ran away with the performer trophy on Sunday night. Boasting her new low-key look and sans-meat dress, Gaga looked like a queen surround by birch trees as she belted out a tribute medley of songs from “The Sound of Music.” Finally proving to disbelievers that that this woman can actually sing, and sing well, Gaga is rightfully one of the most talked about moments of the night. The icing on the cake? That picture-perfect hug with Julie Andrews after. Queen, meet Lady.

“Birdman” Wins Best Picture

Call this biased, but it felt like sweet vindication when “Birdman” director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu took the stage on Sunday Night to accept the award for Best Picture. All the hype around “Boyhood” had me convinced that no one else besides Richard Linklater could run away with the prize. “Boyhood” may have been a decent movie with an innovative filming schedule, but it was infinitely more boring and structurally predictable than “Birdman.” The Academy picked right this time.

Cut-Off Music Finally Defeated

Polish Director Pawel Pawlikowski, winner of Best Foreign Film for his movie “Ida,” finally figured out the secret to defeating that dreaded cut-off music: mention your dead wife. Because he isn’t a well-known figure, Pawlikowski got relatively very little time to say his thanks, and the orchestra made a quick move to drown him out. However, with a forceful mention of his wife, he managed to quiet that music right down again and finish off with the rest of speech. The daring paid off, and Pawlikowski is now an Oscars hero to go down in history.

The End of Neil Patrick Harris’ “Mystery Box”

Discounting his expectedly entertaining musical opener, everyone’s favorite sitcom-star-turned-professional-host fell flat on Sunday. Aside from overcooked dad jokes and a flat section in which he attempted to harass celebrities in the aisle, Harris’ worst offense was no doubt his mystery “predictions box.” The bit was only barely funny at the start, and it got even more painful as the night wore on—poor Octavia Spencer for having to play along, as the laughs grew quieter and the faces more blank. When the box was finally opened, there was no comic payoff at all, just putting the joke out of its misery. It looks like Harris’ reign as host-du-jour is up after his disappointing Oscars performance. Who will be next? I’m pulling for Jessica Williams: she may not want to host “The Daily Show,” but surely she could be down for 3 1/2 star-studded hours.