‘KPop Demon Hunters,’ ‘Wicked: For Good,’ ‘Sinners’ & More: Early Oscar Predictions for Best Song and Score

When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences reveals its Academy Award shortlists in 10 categories on Dec. 16, it will constitute an early holiday present for the creators of 15 original songs and 20 original scores. Another round of voting will follow, preceding the nominations announcement on Jan. 22, 2026. A final round of voting will then occur before the 98th annual Oscars telecast on March 15.

Three top contenders for best original song — “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters, “Lose My Mind” from F1: The Movie and “Dying To Live” from Billy Idol Should Be Dead — are each the work of five co-writers. The academy will award no more than four Oscars in this category. Should any of those songs win, the songwriters must share a single statuette.

Best Original Song

“Dream As One”
Miley Cyrus, Andrew Wyatt, Mark Ronson, Simon Franglen
Avatar: Fire and Ash, 20th Century Studios

Wyatt and Ronson won in this category in 2019 for co-writing “Shallow” from A Star Is Born with Lady Gaga and Anthony Rossomando. They received a second nod in 2024 for “I’m Just Ken” from Barbie. Cyrus and Wyatt teamed with Lykke Li last year to write “Beautiful That Way” from The Last Showgirl. It wasn’t nominated (or shortlisted), but it generated some buzz. Franglen also scored the film.

“Dying To Live”
Billy Idol, J. Ralph, Steve Stevens, Tommy English, Joe Janiak
Billy Idol Should Be Dead, Live Nation Productions

This would be Ralph’s fourth nomination in this category and the first for the other songwriters. Idol has received three Grammy nods, including one for “Cradle of Love” from the 1990 film The Adventures of Ford Fairlane. Billy Idol Should Be Dead was directed by Jonas Åkerlund, who has helmed concert and documentary films by such A-listers as Madonna, Paul McCartney, Beyoncé & Jay-Z and Taylor Swift.

“Salt Then Sour Then Sweet”
Sara Bareilles, Brandi Carlile, Andrea Gibson
Come See Me in the Good Light, Apple Original Films

Gibson, who died of ovarian cancer in July, would be the first person to be posthumously nominated in this category since Howard Ashman, who received four nods (including one win) in the two years following his 1991 death. Bareilles and Carlile executive-produced the documentary about Gibson and her wife dealing with Gibson’s illness. Carlile was nominated in this category at the 2025 ceremony for co-writing “Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late.

“Just Keep Watching”
Tate McRae, Tyler Spry, Ryan Tedder, Amy Allen
F1: The Movie, Apple Original Films

This year, McRae landed her first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 and her first No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100. Could she earn her first Oscar nomination in early 2026? Allen is the reigning Grammy winner for songwriter of the year, ­non-classical. Tedder has three album of the year Grammys for his work with Adele and Taylor Swift. Spry is known for his credits with artists such as OneRepublic and McRae.

“Lose My Mind”
Grant Boutin, Ryan Tedder, Amala Zandile Dlamini, Caleb Toliver, Hans Zimmer
F1: The Movie, Apple Original Films

Although it’s rare for two songs from one film to be nominated, Emilia Pérez achieved the feat at the 2025 ceremony. F1: The Movie, Sinners and Wicked: For Good are among the films hoping to do the same early next year. If “Lose My Mind” is nominated, it will mark Zimmer’s first nod in this category. He has received 12 nominations (and won twice) in scoring categories.

“Highest 2 Lowest”
Aiyana-Lee Anderson, Nicole Daciana Anderson
Highest 2 Lowest, A24

Highest 2 Lowest, directed by Spike Lee, is an English-language remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 Japanese film, High and Low. The movie stars Denzel Washington, Jeffrey Wright, A$AP Rocky, LaChanze, Princess Nokia and Ice Spice (in her film debut). Aiyana-­Lee Anderson, the niece of David Ruffin of The Temptations, co-wrote the titular track with her mother, Nicole Daciana Anderson. This would be the first song from a Lee film to be nominated.

“Golden”
EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, IDO, 24, Teddy
KPop Demon Hunters, Netflix

“Golden,” which topped the Hot 100 for eight weeks, would be the first No. 1 since Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” from Trolls in 2017 to rule the chart and then land an Oscar nod. (“Shallow” from A Star Is Born hit No. 1 only after its Oscar win.) EJAE, IDO, 24 and Teddy would be the first South Korean-born songwriters to be nominated since Karen O, who was cited in 2014 for co-writing “The Moon Song” from Her.

“Dear Me”
Diane Warren
Relentless, Greenwich Entertainment

Earlier this year, Warren tied Sammy Cahn’s record of earning a best original song nomination for eight consecutive years. If she is nominated again in 2026, she’ll stand alone. It would be her 17th nomination in the category, a total surpassed only by Cahn (26) and Johnny Mercer (18). Moreover, it would be her 13th nod as a solitary songwriter, tying Randy Newman for the most solo-written nominated songs.

“I Lied to You”
Raphael Saadiq, Ludwig Göransson
Sinners, Warner Bros. Pictures

Ryan Coogler produced, wrote and directed Sinners, which was No. 1 at the box office for two weeks in April. The last two films that Coogler wrote and directed — Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — both spawned best original song nominees. Saadiq and Göransson are past nominees in this category: Saadiq in 2018 for co-­writing “Mighty River” from Mudbound and Göransson in 2023 for co-writing “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

“Last Time (I Seen the Sun)”
Alice Smith, Miles Caton
Sinners, Warner Bros. Pictures

Caton, who turned 20 in March, would be the youngest nominee for best original song since Billie Eilish, who was just six weeks past her 20th birthday in 2022 when she was nominated for co-writing the title song to No Time To Die (which won). In addition to co-­writing the song, Caton co-stars in the film. Smith was a Grammy nominee for best urban/alternative performance in 2008 for “Dream.”

“Train Dreams”
Nick Cave, Bryce Dessner
Train Dreams, Netflix

Cave is vying to become the third songwriter from Australia to be nominated in this category, following John Farrar (for writing “Hopelessly Devoted to You” from Grease) and Peter Allen (for co-writing “Arthur’s Theme [Best That You Can Do]” from Arthur, which won). Dessner has won two Grammys. Train Dreams stars Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones and William H. Macy.

“As Alive as You Need Me To Be”
Nine Inch Nails
Tron: Ares, Disney

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are submitting this as Nine Inch Nails rather than under their individual names. If the academy keeps it that way, it would be the first nominee in this category to be listed under their group billing. Reznor and Ross have received three Oscar nods for their scores, but this would be their first for a song. Jared Leto stars in Tron: Ares, the third installment in the Tron franchise.

“The Girl in the ­Bubble”
Stephen Schwartz
Wicked: For Good, Universal

Schwartz has received five nominations in this category, winning the first two times for “Colors of the Wind” from Pocahontas and “When You Believe” from The Prince of Egypt. He was subsequently nominated for co-writing three songs from ­Enchanted. Wicked: For Good is the sequel to Wicked, which received 10 nominations earlier this year, but none in this category since it didn’t include any new songs.

“No Place Like Home”
Stephen Schwartz
Wicked: For Good, Universal

If both of Schwartz’s songs are nominated, he’ll become the first individual songwriter with two songs in the running since Randy Newman accomplished the feat 16 years ago with The Princess and the Frog. Wicked: For Good adapts the second act of the 2003 stage musical by Schwartz and Winnie Holzman. Jon M. Chu directed both this film and its megahit predecessor.

“Zoo”
Blake Slatkin, Ed Sheeran, Shakira
Zootopia 2, Disney

Colombian superstar Shakira is vying to become the first songwriter born in Latin America to be nominated in this category since Brazilians Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown were nominated in 2012 for a song from Rio. Sheeran is a four-time Grammy nominee for song of the year, winning for “Thinking Out Loud.” Slatkin was nominated in that category for co-writing Lizzo’s “About Damn Time.”

Best Original Score

Avatar: Fire and Ash (20th Century Studios)
Simon Franglen

This is the third installment in the ­Avatar franchise. James Horner’s score for the original film was nominated in this category in 2010. Horner was set to score the sequel, 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water, before he died in a 2015 turboprop plane crash. Franglen subsequently got the assignment for that film, though his work wasn’t nominated. This would be Franglen’s first Oscar nod.

Bugonia (Focus Features)
Jerskin Fendrix

Fendrix was nominated in 2024 in this category for scoring director Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things. Fendrix also scored Lanthimos’ follow-up, Kinds of Kindness, though that film didn’t receive any Oscar nods. The composer and director are back for a third go-round. Bugonia stars Emma Stone, who won the Oscar for best actress with Poor Things and also starred in Kinds of Kindness.

Captain America: Brave New World (Marvel/Disney)
Laura Karpman

Karpman was nominated in this category two years ago for scoring American Fiction. If she’s nominated again, she’ll join a short list of women who have received two or more nods in scoring categories, following Rachel Portman and Angela Morley. (Hildur Guðnadóttir is also hoping to make that list with Hedda.) This is the fourth installment in the Captain America franchise. Alan Silvestri scored the first; Henry Jackman handled the second and third.

Fantastic Four: First Steps (Marvel/Disney)
Michael Giacchino

Giacchino was nominated in this category for Ratatouille in 2008 and won for Up in 2010. Fantastic Four: First Steps, the 37th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, features an ensemble cast including Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Joseph Quinn.

F1: The Movie (Apple Original Films)
Hans Zimmer

Zimmer has received 12 nominations in this category, landing at least one in each of the last five decades and winning for The Lion King and Dune. He’s third on the list of living composers with the most score nominations, trailing only John Williams (who has amassed an astounding 49 in score categories) and Thomas Newman (14). F1: The Movie became the top-grossing auto racing film ever and the top-grossing movie of Brad Pitt’s career.

Frankenstein (Netflix)
Alexandre Desplat

Desplat has received 11 nominations for his scores, winning for The Grand Budapest Hotel in 2015 and The Shape of Water in 2018. Frankenstein was directed, written and co-produced by Guillermo del Toro, who did the honors on The Shape of Water as well as a third film that Desplat scored, Pinocchio. Frankenstein, which stars Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi and Christoph Waltz, is based on Mary Shelley’s classic 1818 novel of the same name.

Hamnet (Focus Features)
Max Richter

Hamnet was co-written, co-­edited and directed by Chloé Zhao, who won a pair of Oscars in 2021 for directing and co-producing Nomadland. Based on Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel, Hamnet follows the relationship between William Shakespeare and his wife, Anne Hathaway, and the impact of the death of their 11-year-old son, Hamnet, on their lives. Richter has received two Grammy nominations — best score soundtrack for visual media for Ad Astra and best music video as a featured artist on Woodkid’s “The Golden Age.”

Hedda (Amazon MGM)
Hildur Guðnadóttir

In 2020, when Guðnadóttir won best original score for Joker, the Icelandic composer became just the fourth woman to capture an Oscar in a scoring category. Lyricist Marilyn Bergman shared the award for original song score in 1984 for Yentl. Rachel Portman won best original musical or comedy score in 1997 for Emma. Anne Dudley won in that same category the following year for The Full Monty.

A House of Dynamite (Netflix)
Volker Bertelmann

This would be Bertelmann’s fourth nomination in this category, following Lion (a collaboration with Dustin O’Halloran) in 2017, All Quiet on the Western Front in 2023 (for which he won) and Conclave earlier this year. A House of Dynamite is an apocalyptic political thriller directed by Kathryn Bigelow. The film’s ensemble cast includes Idris Elba, Tracy Letts and Anthony Ramos.

Jay Kelly (Netflix)
Nicholas Britell

This would be Britell’s fourth nomination in this category, following nods for the Barry Jenkins films Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk and Adam McKay’s Don’t Look Up. Jay Kelly is a coming-of-age comedy-­drama directed by Noah Baumbach that he co-wrote with Emily Mortimer. The film stars an ensemble cast that includes George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern and Billy Crudup.

The Lost Bus (Apple Original Films)
James Newton Howard

This would be Howard’s eighth nod in a scoring category. He has also been nominated for two songs. The Lost Bus was directed by Paul Greengrass and stars Matthew McConaughey and America Ferrera. The film is based on the true story of a bus driver who navigated a bus carrying 22 children and their teachers to safety through the 2018 Camp Fire, which was the deadliest fire in California history.

Marty Supreme (A24)
Daniel Pemberton

Pemberton has yet to be nominated for a score, though he was nominated for best original song in 2021 for co-writing “Hear My Voice” from The Trial of the Chicago 7. Marty Supreme, which stars Timothée Chalamet and Gwyneth Paltrow, is a sports comedy-drama set in New York during the 1950s. It is loosely inspired by American table tennis player Marty Reisman and his at-all-costs pursuit of greatness.

Materialists (A24)
Daniel Pemberton

If both of Pemberton’s scores are nominated, he’ll become the first individual composer with two films on the final ballot since Alexandre Desplat scored a double in 2015 with The Grand Budapest Hotel (which won) and The Imitation Game. Materialists, a romantic comedy-drama written and directed by Celine Song, follows a love triangle among characters played by Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal. It’s Song’s second feature as a writer-director following Past Lives.

One Battle After ­Another (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Jonny Greenwood

This would be Greenwood’s third nod in this category, following Phantom Thread in 2018 and The Power of the Dog in 2022. Greenwood, the lead guitarist and keyboardist of Radiohead, and Nine Inch Nails mainstays Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have yet to be nominated in the same year. One Battle After Another is an action thriller written, co-produced and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Leonardo DiCaprio and Benicio Del Toro star.

Sentimental Value (Neon)
Hania Rani

This would be the first nomination for Rani, a Polish pianist, composer and singer. Sentimental Value, a comedy-drama directed by Joachim Trier, follows a fractured relationship between an acclaimed director and his two estranged daughters. The film had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May, where it won the Grand Prix. It was selected as the Norwegian entry for best international feature film at the upcoming Oscars.

Sinners (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Ludwig Göransson

Göransson has received two nominations for best original score for Black Panther in 2019 and Oppenheimer in 2024, winning both times. The Swedish composer has scored all five of director Ryan Coogler’s films — Fruitvale Station, Creed, Black Panther, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and now Sinners. Göransson also has an executive producer credit on this film, which stars Michael B. Jordan in dual roles as twin brothers.

The Testament of Ann Lee (Searchlight Pictures)
Daniel Blumberg

Blumberg won this category earlier this year for The Brutalist. He is vying to become the first best original score winner to be nominated again the following year since Alexandre Desplat was nominated for Isle of Dogs at the 2019 ceremony after winning the previous year for The Shape of Water. The Testament of Ann Lee stars Amanda Seyfried as Ann Lee, the founding leader of the Shakers religious sect in the 18th century.

Train Dreams (Netflix)
Bryce Dessner

This would mark the first Oscar nomination for Dessner, who has won two Grammys — best chamber music/small ensemble performance in 2016 for producing Eighth Blackbird’s Filament and best alternative music album in 2018 as a band member and co-producer of The National’s Sleep Well Beast. Train Dreams stars Joel Edgerton as a logger who is working to develop the railroad across the United States.

Tron: Ares (Disney)
Nine Inch Nails

As with their best original song entry, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are submitting this under their group name. If the academy keeps it that way, Nine Inch Nails will be the third group nominated in a scoring category as such, following The Beatles, who won best original song score in 1971 for Let It Be, and Son Lux, which was nominated for best original score three years ago for Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Wicked: For Good (Universal)
John Powell, Stephen Schwartz

Powell and Schwartz were nominated in this category at the 2025 ceremony for Wicked. Schwartz previously won in the defunct original musical or comedy score category for Pocahontas and was nominated in that category for The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Prince of Egypt. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, who were Oscar-­nominated for Wicked, reprise their roles in the sequel, as do Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, ­Marissa Bode, Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum.

Additional reporting by Melinda Newman.

This story appears in the Nov. 15, 2025, issue of Billboard.