Two songs from Barbie were nominated for best original song on Tuesday (Jan. 23) – “I’m Just Ken” (written by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt) and “What Was I Made For?” (written by Billie Eilish and Finneas). A third song from the blockbuster film, “Dance the Night” (on which Ronson and Wyatt collaborated with Dua Lipa and Caroline Ailin) failed to advance to the finals. (Based on a 2008 rule change, no more than two songs from a film can be nominated.)
Barbie is the first film to spawn two best song nominees since La La Land seven years ago. “City of Stars” and “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” were both nominated. “City of Stars” went on to win. Unlike with Barbie, both songs were written by the same team – composer Justin Hurwitz and lyricists Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.
“What Was I Made For?” is also a Grammy nominee for song of the year.
Oscar perennial Diane Warren was nominated with “The Fire Inside” from Flamin’ Hot. This is her 15th best original song nomination, a benchmark that only five songwriters have reached. This is the seventh consecutive year in which Warren has been nominated, the longest streak in this category since Sammy Cahn was nominated eight years running, from 1954 to 1961.
Warren has yet to win a competitive Oscar. She is one of just five people in Oscar history to amass so many nominations without a win. She joins sound mixer Greg P. Russell (16 nods), the late art director Roland Anderson (15), composer Thomas Newman (15) and the late composer Alex North (15).
Jon Batiste, who won an Oscar three years ago for collaborating on the Soul score with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, landed his first best original song nod for “It Never Went Away” from American Symphony, a documentary about a year in his life. Batiste co-wrote the song with Dan Wilson. The pair also have a Grammy song of the year nomination, but for a different song, “Butterfly.” American Symphony was passed over for a nod for best documentary feature.
“Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” from Killers of the Flower Moon was a surprise nominee. The song is credited to The Osage Tribe. Many expected Lenny Kravitz’s “Road to Freedom” to be nominated, but it fell short.
In the best original score category, Ludwig Göransson was nominated for his score for Oppenheimer. The Swedish composer won in this category five years ago for scoring Black Panther. He was nominated for an Oscar last year for co-writing a song for the sequel.
John Williams was nominated for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. This is Williams’ record-extending 49th nod in a scoring category and his fourth for a film in the Indiana Jones franchise. In total, it is Williams’ 54th Oscar nomination (the other five are for best original song), which pulls him closer to Walt Disney’s all-time record of 59 for an individual.
The late Robbie Robertson was nominated for Killers of the Flower Moon. This was the 12th and last Martin Scorsese film that Robertson worked on. Robertson, who died in June at age 80, is the first composer to be nominated in this category posthumously since the legendary Bernard Herrmann was cited in 1976 for both Obsession and Taxi Driver.
Laura Karpman received her first Oscar nod for American Fiction. Karpman is the fifth woman to receive a nomination in this category in the last 25 years, following Rachel Portman (The Cider House Rules and Chocolat), Mica Levi (Jackie), Hildur Guðnadóttir (Joker), Germaine Franco (Encanto). Note: Levi, who was shortlisted this year for her score for The Zone of Interest, came out as non-binary subsequent to her nod for Jackie.
English musician Jerskin Fendrix landed his first Oscar nod for scoring Poor Things. Scores expected to make the cut that fell short were Daniel Pemberton’s Spider Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Anthony Willis’ Saltburn.
The 96th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 10, at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood, and will be televised live on ABC. Jimmy Kimmel is hosting for the fourth time.
Here’s a complete list of the songs that were nominated for best original song, followed by a complete list of the shortlisted songs that were not nominated.
Nominated Songs
“It Never Went Away”
Jon Batiste, Dan Wilson
American Symphony, Netflix
“I’m Just Ken”
Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt
Barbie, Warner Bros.
“What Was I Made For?”
Billie Eilish, FINNEAS
Barbie, Warner Bros.
“The Fire Inside”
Diane Warren
Flamin’ Hot, Hulu/Searchlight Pictures
“Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)”
The Osage Tribe
Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple Original Films/Paramount Pictures)
Shortlisted Songs That Were Not Nominated
“Dear Alien (Who Art in Heaven)”
Jarvis Cocker, Richard Hawley, Wes Anderson
Asteroid City, Focus Features
“Dance the Night”
Caroline Ailin, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt
Barbie, Warner Bros.
“Keep It Movin’”
Halle Bailey, Denisia Andrews, Brittany Coney, Morten Ristorp
The Color Purple, Warner Bros.
“Superpower (I)”
The-Dream
The Color Purple, Warner Bros.
“High Life”
Gary Clark, John Carney, Eve Hewson
Flora and Son, Apple
“Meet in the Middle”
Gary Clark, John Carney, Eve Hewson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John Ardiff
Flora and Son, Apple
“Can’t Catch Me Now”
Dan Nigro, Olivia Rodrigo
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, Lionsgate
“Quiet Eyes”
Zach Dawes, Sharon Von Etten
Past Lives, A24
“Road to Freedom”
Lenny Kravitz
Rustin, Netflix
“Am I Dreaming”
A$AP Rocky, Metro Boomin, Michael Dean, Peter Lee Johnson, Roisee, Scriptplugg
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Sony Pictures
Here’s a complete list of the scores that were nominated for best original score, followed by a list of the shortlisted scores that were not nominated.
Nominated Scores
American Fiction (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM)
Laura Karpman
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Disney)
John Williams
Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple)
Robbie Robertson
Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures)
Ludwig Göransson
Poor Things (Searchlight Pictures)
Jerskin Fendrix
Shortlisted Scores That Were Not Nominated
American Symphony (Netflix)
Jon Batiste
Barbie (Warner Bros.)
Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt
The Boy and the Heron (GKids)
Joe Hisaishi
The Color Purple (Warner Bros.)
Kris Bowers
Elemental (Pixar)
Thomas Newman
The Holdovers (Focus Features)
Mark Orton
Saltburn (Amazon/MGM)
Anthony Willis
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony Pictures)
Daniel Pemberton
Society of the Snow (Netflix)
Michael Giacchino
The Zone of Interest (A24)
Mica Levi
