Nine Inch Nails, HUNTR/X for Kpop Demon Hunters, Nick Cave, Ed Sheeran, Miley Cyrus, and Ariana Grande... All are among those shortlisted for the Best Original Song at the 2026 Oscars. So, who will take home the coveted award? Stay tuned on January 22nd for the final nominations, and mark your calendar for March 15th when the winners of the 98th Academy Awards will be announced.
On March 15, 2026, all eyes will be on Los Angeles, United States, for the 98th Oscars ceremony. While we await the announcement of which films and stars will take home awards this year, the Academy has revealed the list of pre-selected films across 12 categories: animated short, casting, documentary feature, documentary short, international feature, fiction short, makeup and hairstyling, as well as "Best Original Score" and "Best Original Song"!
Among the 15 nominees in the "Best Original Song" category, you'll find names such as Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross from Nine Inch Nails for "Tron: Ares", Ed Sheeran for the film "F1", Miley Cyrus for "Avatar: Fire and Ashes", Nick Cave for "Train Dreams", or the song "Golden" by the fictional girl group HUNTR/X in "KPop Demon Hunters".
Meanwhile, the shortlist for the "Best Film Music" category features scores by Jerskin Fendrix for "Bugonia", Alexandre Desplat for "Frankenstein", and Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead) for "One Battle After Another".
Mark your calendars for Thursday, January 22, 2026, when the final nominations for the 98th Oscars will be announced, followed by the big winners revealed on March 15.
Best Original Song, the Nominees
- 'As Alive As You Need Me To Be' from Tron: Ares – Nine Inch Nails, Boys Noize
- 'Dear Me' from Diane Warren: Relentless – Kesha
- 'Dream As One' from Avatar: Fire and Ash – Miley Cyrus
- 'Drive' from *F1 – Ed Sheeran
- 'Dying To Live' from Billy Idol Should Be Dead* – Billy Idol, J. Ralph
- 'The Girl In The Bubble' from Wicked: For Good – Ariana Grande
- 'Golden' from KPop Demon Hunters – HUNTR/X
- 'Highest 2 Lowest' from Highest 2 Lowest – Aiyana-Lee
- 'I Lied To You' from Sinners – Miles Caton
- 'Last Time (I Seen The Sun)' from Sinners – Alice Smith, Miles Caton
- 'No Place Like Home' from Wicked: For Good – Cynthia Erivo
- 'Our Love' from The Ballad of Wallis Island – Tom Badsen, Carey Mulligan
- 'Salt Then Sour Then Sweet' from Come See Me in the Good Light – Sara Bareilles
- 'Sweet Dreams Of Joy' from Viva Verdi! – Nicholas Pike, Ana María Martínez
- 'Train Dreams' from Train Dreams – Nick Cave
Best Film Music: The Final Nominees
- Avatar: Fire and Ash – Simon Franglen
- Bugonia – Jerskin Fendrix
- Captain America: Brave New World – Laura Karpman
- Diane Warren: Relentless – Lesley Barber
- F1 – Hans Zimmer
- Frankenstein – Alexandre Desplat
- Hamnet – Max Richter
- Hedda – Hildur Guðnadóttir
- A House of Dynamite – Volker Bertelmann
- Jay Kelly – Nicholas Britell
- Marty Supreme – Daniel Lopatin
- Nuremberg – Brian Tyler
- One Battle After Another – Jonny Greenwood
- Sinners – Ludwig Göransson
- Sirât – Kangding Ray
- Train Dreams – Bryce Dessner
- Tron: Ares – Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
- Truth and Treason – Aaron Zigman
- Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery – Nathan Johnson
- Wicked: For Good – John Powell and Stephen Schwartz
It’s worth noting that the 2025 Oscar for Best Original Song went to "El Mal" from the film "Emilia Pérez," while the award for Best Film Score was given to "The Brutalist."
