‘Sinners’ Song Nominated at 2025 World Soundtrack Awards: Will Oscar Nod Follow?

“I Lied to You” from Ryan Coogler’s box-office smash Sinners is nominated for best original song at the 2025 World Soundtrack Awards, which boosts its chances of being nominated for an Oscar.

A song from each of writer/director Coogler’s last two films was nominated in that marquee Oscar category – “All the Stars” from Black Panther and “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Sinners was released in April and ranked No. 1 at the box office in each of its first two weekends. It’s the fifth-highest grossing film so far in 2025 domestically, behind A Minecraft Movie, Lilo & Stitch, Jurassic World: Rebirth and Superman, and No. 12 for the year so far worldwide.

Ludwig Göransson and Raphael Saadiq co-wrote “I Lied to You,” which was performed by Miles Caton, one of the stars of the film. Both writers are past Oscar nominees for best original song. Göransson was nominated for co-writing the aforementioned “Lift Me Up”; Saadiq for co-writing “Mighty River” from Mudbound. In addition to his best original song nod, Göransson is a two-time Oscar winner for best original score, for Black Panther and Oppenheimer.

The other four nominees for best original song at the World Soundtrack Awards are from 2024 films and thus can’t be in the running for Oscars next year. (One of them, “El Mal” from Emilia Pérez, won the Oscar earlier this year. Of the others, “Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late, was nominated; “Winter Coat” from Blitz was shortlisted but not nominated; and “Beautiful That Way” from The Last Showgirl wasn’t even shortlisted.)

German composer and pianist Volker Bertelmann is nominated for both film composer of the year (for Conclave and The Amateur) and television composer of the year (for The Day of the Jackal, Dune: Prophecy and The Count of Monte Cristo). Bertelmann won film composer of the year at the 2023 World Soundtrack Awards.

The nominations were announced by Film Fest Gent and the World Soundtrack Academy on Tuesday (Aug. 5). Winners will be announced on Oct. 15 at the annual WSA Ceremony & Concert during Film Fest Gent, Belgium’s biggest international film festival. Philip Glass and Michael Nyman are set to receive lifetime achievement awards.

The second wave of nominations – for discovery of the year, public choice award, game music award, and Belgian film composer of the year – will be announced on Sept. 4.

Here’s the full list of nominations in these first three categories.

Best Original Song

    “Beautiful That Way” from The Last Showgirl – written by Andrew Wyatt, Lykke Li, Miley Cyrus; performed by Miley Cyrus, Andrew Wyatt, Matt Dunkley

    “El Mal” from Emilia Pérez – written by Clément Ducol, Camille, Jacques Audiard; performed by Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón

    “I Lied to You” from Sinners – written by Ludwig Göransson, Raphael Saadiq; performed by Miles Caton

    “Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late – written by Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt, Bernie Taupin; performed by Elton John, Brandi Carlile

    “Winter Coat” from Blitz – written by Nicholas Britell, Steve McQueen, Taura Stinson; performed by Nicholas Britell, Saoirse Ronan

Film Composer of the Year

    Volker Bertelmann – Conclave; The Amateur

    Daniel Blumberg – The Brutalist

    Kris Bowers – The Wild Robot

    Clément Ducol and Camille – Emilia Pérez

    Alberto Iglesias – The Room Next Door

    John Powell – How to Train Your Dragon

Television Composer of the Year

    Volker Bertelmann – The Day of the Jackal; Dune: Prophecy; The Count of Monte Cristo

    David Fleming, Gustavo Santaolalla – The Last of Us (Season 2)

    Ariel Marx – Dying for Sex

    Bear McCreary – The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Season 2)

    Martin Phipps – Black Doves

    Theodore Shapiro – Severance (Season 2)