A song returns after 27 years: Julia Stiles' Heath Ledger tribute

Some songs summon a scene before a melody. A 1999 film's memory met a present-day stage.

Stiles and Ezra Sosa danced to Can't Take My Eyes Off You on the October 20 US broadcast, honoring her 10 Things I Hate About You co-star Heath Ledger.

Returning to the song Ledger performed in the film creates the connection. Fellow cast members joined the occasion.

A Korean X user welcomed the reunion and described the homage as moving. Both posts reached a Korean board on October 22.

Familiar music and faces can carry the audience's own history, allowing reunion and absence to be felt together.

This was a broadcast tribute 27 years after the film, rather than a separate official anniversary event.

Stiles told PEOPLE that sincerity and respect guided the tribute.