WATCH: Rufus Wainwright, Anna Kendrick Perform at Kennedy Center Honors

The Kennedy Center Honors paid tribute to Herbie Hancock, Martina Arroyo, Shirley MacLaine, Billy Joel and Carlos Santana during its annual tribute to lifetime achievements in the performing arts. Two of the notable performances belonged to Rufus Wainwright and Anna Kendrick.

Kendrick, like Anne Hathaway who paid tribute to Meryl Streep before her, had big shoes to fill in a medley performance honoring MacLaine's stage career. The Tony-nominated actress wowed with a faithful rendition of "It's Not Where You Start, It's Where You Finish." For anyone behind on the talents of Kendrick better catch up before Into The Woods hits theaters next year.

However, the most crowd-pleasding moment of the night went to Wainwright. The singer launched into "New York State Of Mind" before seemlessly segueing into "Piano Man." For anyone who has sang the song late-night at a bar knows that its one that requires audience participation.