Nick Cave, Ejae and Raphael Saadiq are all nominated for an Oscar in the Best Original Song category. It’s a good thing Diane Warren is “tireless” – that’s the title of the latest documentary about her – because she has been nominated for the Best Original Song Oscar 17 times since 1988 and has never won.
And now, after this year’s nominations were announced on Thursday, her song “Dear Me”, sung by Kesha, competes against the seemingly unbeatable audience favorite from “KPop Demon Hunters”: “Golden”. (Fittingly, Warren received an honorary Oscar from the Academy in 2023 “for her genius, generosity and passionate commitment to the power of song in film.”)
The remaining nominees, who are visibly nervous about having to compete against “Golden” this year, are Raphael Saadiq, Nick Cave and Nicholas Pike. Incidentally, these songs beat out music by Nine Inch Nails (for “Tron: Ares”), Cynthia Erivo (for “Wicked: For Good”), Ed Sheeran, Dave Grohl and John Mayer (for “F1”) and Billy Idol (from “Billy Idol: Dying to Live”), all of whom were previously on the shortlist of contenders.
A favorite with overwhelming competition
But no matter how strong the field is: “Golden” is a tough opponent. Betting shops in Las Vegas are set to pay out golden sums if any of the songs below manage to beat the Huntrix singers from “KPop Demon Hunters” when the awards show airs on March 15. Celebrate these nominations while the moment of success still feels fresh.
“Dear Me” from “Diane Warren: Relentless”
Music and lyrics by Diane Warren
Songwriter Diane Warren finally received the recognition she deserved with the documentary “Diane Warren: Relentless.” Director Bess Kargman (“First Position,” “Coach”) interviewed Jennifer Hudson, Common and, of course, Kesha, who sings “Dear Me,” to capture Warren’s spirit. Cher describes her in the film as “relentless” and adds: “She’s just crazy, oh my God, but she writes great songs.”
“Dear Me” is of course another great song. “Dear me, don’t worry ‘bout it,” Kesha sings. “You’re gonna be all right, you’ll see.” They are words straight from the heart of Warren, who has come close to winning her own Oscar for more than 30 years.
“Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters”
Music and lyrics by Ejae, Ido, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Mark Sonnenblick, Teddy and 24
2025 belonged to “Golden,” and given the massive popularity of “KPop Demon Hunters” — Netflix’s most-streamed film of all time, which is also nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Film — and the song itself, it could dominate 2026 as well. The title is performed in the film by the fictional group Huntrix.
The track topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 18 consecutive weeks last year and reached number one in numerous countries worldwide. The RIAA has now certified the song with its unforgettably catchy chorus as double platinum. “‘Golden’ really means a lot to me because I needed a song like that at the time,” one of the songwriters, Ejae, who is also one of the song’s vocalists, told Rolling Stone last year. The song already won the Golden Globe in the same category in January – which could help or hurt it.
“I Lied to You” from “Sinners”
Music and lyrics by Ludwig Göransson and Raphael Saadiq
One of the most surreal scenes in “Sinners,” Ryan Coogler’s hit vampire film, shows Miles Caton playing blues on an acoustic guitar in a crowded dance hall. Meanwhile, icons of black music history emerge from the crowd: a griot, a Funkadelic guitarist, a B-boy with a bucket hat.
“They say the truth hurts, so I lie to you,” Caton sings. “Yes, I lied to you, I love the blues.” Raphael Saadiq wrote the unforgettable song together with the film music composer, Ludwig Göransson. Saadiq and Caton have since performed the song together on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” listed.
“Sweet Dreams of Joy” from “Viva Verdi!”
Music and lyrics by Nicholas Pike
Perhaps the most surprising nomination is Nicholas Pike’s “Sweet Dreams of Joy,” which as of this writing has only had 625 views on YouTube since its upload two months ago – possibly all from members of the Academy’s Nominating Committee. A performance video that shows soprano Ana María Martínez singing the song and was released a year ago only has 455 views.
The song comes from a documentary by filmmaker Yvonne Russo about the Casa Verdi in Milan – a retirement home built in 1896 by composer Giuseppe Verdi, where older classical artists teach younger ones. Pike explained that he wrote the song after feeling the energy and “joy and passion” of Casa Verdi.
“Train Dreams” from “Train Dreams”
Music by Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner, lyrics by Nick Cave
Singer-songwriter Nick Cave has previously championed Denis Johnson’s feverish 2011 novel about a railway worker struggling to survive. Therefore, Cave was a natural choice to write a song for director Clint Bentley’s film adaptation of the book.
The lyrics retell scenes from the film, which focuses on a specific section of the novella. Cave sings of “crazy dreams,” accompanied by sparse piano playing and acoustic guitar from his co-writer Bryce Dessner, the film’s score composer and guitarist for the band The National. Bentley said he was “blown away” when he first heard the song.