In the 90 years that the Oscars have had a Best Original Song category, only one songwriter has been nominated in that category eight years in a row. The late lyricist Sammy Cahn was nominated every year from 1954 to 1961, winning three times during that run, for “Three Coins in the Fountain,” “All the Way” and “High Hopes,” all recorded by Frank Sinatra.
Diane Warren has a chance to tie Cahn's record on January 17, 2025, when the nominations for the 97th annual Academy Awards are announced. Warren is pinning her hopes on the song “The Journey” from Tyler Perry's upcoming WWII drama, The Six Triple Eight. Netflix is set to release the film later this year.
This would be Warren's 16th career nomination in the category, a total of just three songwriters in history. Cahn leads with 26 nominations, followed by Johnny Mercer with 18 and Paul Francis Webster with 16. If nominated, Warren would surpass Alan & Marilyn Bergman, who had 15 nominations in this category, making Warren the woman with the most nods in this category. (Unlike all these other songwriters, Warren has yet to win in the category.)
In an interesting twist, “The Journey” was recorded for the soundtrack of the film by HER, which beat Warren to the Oscar in early 2021. “Fight for You” by Judas and the Black Messiahwhich HER co-wrote with Dernst Emile II (D'Mile) and Tiara Thomas, won “Io Sì (Seen)” from Life Ahead (La Vita Davanti a Se)which Warren co-wrote with Laura Pausini. Warren's song had earlier won a Golden Globe.
The Six Triple Eight presents the contributions of the 6888 Central Postal Directory Battalion, an all-black and all-female battalion, in World War II. Perry wrote, directed and co-produced the film, which is based on historian Kevin M. Hymel's article “WAC Corporal Lena Derriecott and the 6888th Central Postal Battalion,” which appeared in the February 2019 issue of History of World War II magazine.
The 6888th Central Mail Directory Battalion contributed to the war effort by sorting a huge backlog of mail and delivering it to American soldiers. “The Journey” is described as “a tribute to those who face seemingly insurmountable obstacles but persevere and ultimately triumph” – a familiar theme in Warren's film songs.
HER recorded and released “The Journey” in 2023. She participated in various ESPN in-game production elements throughout the channel's NBA Playoffs coverage beginning on April 15, 2023. Three months later, on July 12, he sang it live at the 2023 EPSY Awards.
So how can the song be eligible for Best Original Song for a 2024 film that hasn't even been released and compete for awards in 2025? Because Warren wrote the song for the movie.
It was announced in December 2022 that Tyler Perry would write and direct the Netflix film. In January 2023, the cast, including Kerry Washington, Sam Waterston, Susan Sarandon, and Oprah Winfrey, was announced, with Washington also serving as an executive producer. Filming began on January 17, 2023, in Atlanta.
VarietyClayton Thomas reports that there is precedent for the songs with similar tracks to be suggested by the music industry, such as “In the Deep” from Conflict (2005) and the Oscar-winning 'Falling Slowly' by Once (2007).
In 2023, Warren became the first songwriter to receive an Honorary Academy Award. The award read: “To Diane Warren, for her genius, generosity and passionate commitment to the power of song in film.”
In addition, he has won a Primetime Emmy, a Grammy and two Golden Globes – all for film scores. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001 and received that organization's top honor, the Johnny Mercer Award, in June.
Bess Kargman Diane Warren: Relentless documentary about Warren's life premiered at SXSW in March.
Back-to-back Oscar Nods by Sammy Cahn
It follows Cahn's eight-year streak of Best Original Song nominations. He wrote the lyrics to all these songs. The composer is shown and the winning songs are highlighted.
1954: “Three Coins in the Fountain” by Three coins in the fountain [Music by Jule Styne] [winner]
1955: (2 nods) “I'll Never Stop Loving You” by Love Me or Leave Me [Music by Nicholas Brodszky] and “(Love Is) The Tender Trap” by The tender trap [Music by James Van Heusen]
1956: “Written on the Wind” by Written on the Wind [Music by Victor Young]
1957: “All the Way” by The Joker is wild [Music by James Van Heusen] [winner]
1958: “To Love and Be Loved” by Some came running [Music by James Van Heusen]
1959 (2 nods) “The Best of Everything” by The best of all [Music by Alfred Newman] and “High Hopes” by A hole in the head [Music by James Van Heusen] [winner]
1960: “The Second Time Around” by High Time [Music by James Van Heusen]
1961: “Pocketful of Miracles” by Pocket of miracles [Music by James Van Heusen]
Diane Warren's Back-to-back Oscar Nods
And here's Warren's seven-year streak of Best Original Song nominations. She also wrote music and lyrics herself, except for what appears.
2017: “Stand Up for Something” by Marshall [Music by Diane Warren; Lyric by Lonnie R. Lynn and Diane Warren]
2018: “I will fight” from RGB
2019: “I'm Standing With You” by Rift
2020: “Io Sì (Seen)” by Life Ahead (La Vita Davanti a Se) [Music by Diane Warren; Lyric by Diane Warren and Laura Pausini]
2021: “Somehow You Do” by Four good mornings
2022: “Applause” by Say it like a woman
2023: “The Fire Inside” by Flamin' Hot
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/diane-warren-sammy-cahn-oscars-most-consecutive-best-original-song-nominations-1235755038/
