Eagle-eyed Gold Derby readers may have noticed that the musical category is currently missing from our Oscars prediction center, due to our policy to not create a poll until the Motion Picture Academy publishes its official list of eligible tracks in December.
But with some of the year’s top awards contenders featuring notable original songs, the category is shaping up to be more competitive than it has been in years, with more recognizable nominees to raise the stakes for Oscar pools.
More from Gold Derby
Thankfully, ahead of the full nominations list for the Critics Choice Awards on Dec. 5, the association released 11 shortlists for its craft categories, including for Best Song. The 12-tune list covers most of the top contenders for the year, so it could be read as a rough draft for the Best Song conversation ahead of official Oscar proceedings.
“Clothed by the Sun” — Daniel Blumberg — The Testament of Ann Lee (Searchlight Pictures)
“Dear Me” — Diane Warren — Diane Warren: Relentless (Greenwich Entertainment)
“Drive” — Ed Sheeran, John Mayer, Blake Slatkin — F1 (Apple Original Films/Warner Bros.)
“The Girl in the Bubble” — Stephen Schwartz — Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)
“Golden” — Ejae, Mark Sonnenblick, Ido, 24, Teddy — KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix)
“Highest 2 Lowest” — Howard Drossin, Aiyana-Lee — Highest 2 Lowest (A24/Apple Original Films)
“I Lied to You” — Raphael Saadiq, Ludwig Göransson – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
“Last Time (I Seen the Sun)” — Alice Smith, Miles Caton, Ludwig Göransson — Sinners (Warner Bros.)
“Lose My Mind” — Don Toliver, Doja Cat, Hans Zimmer, Ryan Tedder, Grant Boutin — F1 (Apple Original Films/Warner Bros.)
“No Place Like Home” — Stephen Schwartz — Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)
“Pale, Pale Moon” — Brittany Howard, Ludwig Göransson — Sinners (Warner Bros.)
“Train Dreams” — Nick Cave, Bryce Dessner — Train Dreams (Netflix)
Here are a few takeaways from the shortlist and what it could mean for the Academy’s category.
Sinners for the winners
The major headline for the entire list was the overwhelming presence of Sinners. Ryan Coogler‘s period vampire movie appeared 13 times across 11 categories, including three entries on the Best Song shortlist. As a major contender in top-line categories like Best Picture and Best Picture with a major musical component, this is not a major surprise.
The one factor to keep an eye on for the Oscars would be the number of nominations. On Warner Bros. FYC site, the studio only put forward two songs as contenders: “I Lied to You” and “The Last Time (I Seen the Sun).” Left off from their list for consideration was “Pale, Pale Moon,” which made the cut with Critics Choice.
Wicked‘s new songs
Part of the creative strategy for beefing up the relatively light second act of the stage musical, the filmmakers behind Wicked: For Good brought back original composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz to write two new original songs for the duology’s conclusion.
Both “No Place Like Home” and “The Girl in the Bubble” are present on the Critics Choice shortlist, confirming that Wicked‘s presence in the general awards conversation has lifted the two songs into contention, but the lukewarm response to the numbers could leave one or both off of the Oscars’ nomination list.
“Golden” fights on
There were few songs bigger in 2025 than “Golden,” the centerpiece of KPop Demon Hunters, and that’s without having to limit consideration to movie tunes. The belter has been omnipresent since the animated feature debuted on Netflix, eventually becoming the streamers biggest original film of all time.
Its inclusion on the CCA shortlist is more or less a box for it to check on its way to a Best Song nomination at the Academy Awards. And with all of the likely contenders assembled into one place, it’s difficult to imagine anything really giving “Golden” a run for its money.
The Warren Factor
Any student of Oscar history will likely have zeroed in on one name from this list in particular, when weighing the implications for Best Song.
Diane Warren.
The 16-time nominee has never won a competitve Academy Award. In fact, she has lost so many times that the documentary about her storied career, Diane Warren: Relentless (for which she wrote the shortlisted song “Dear Me”), is largely about how she hasn’t won an Oscar. (She did receive an honorary statuette in 2022.)
The film itself didn’t make a huge impression — premiering at Sundance in 2024 and getting a small theatrical run at the start of the year — but that hasn’t stopped Warren before. Look at the names of the films she’s been most recently nominated for. How many of those were smash hits? How many of those do you even remember?
Regardless of the movie she’s writing for, Warren cannot be counted out, so spare her (and potential nomination No. 17) a moment when putting together your category predictions.
Best of Gold Derby
Sign up for Gold Derby’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Click here to read the full article.
