{"id":252523,"date":"2026-01-22T22:35:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T22:35:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/252523\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T22:35:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T22:35:12","slug":"best-song-nominations-golden-nick-cave-rapahel-saadiq","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/252523\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Song Nominations ‘Golden,’ Nick Cave, Rapahel Saadiq"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tIt\u2019s a good thing Diane Warren<\/a> is \u201crelentless,\u201d as the title of the recent documentary about her proclaims, because she\u2019s been nominated for 17 Best Original Song Oscars since 1988 and has never won one. And now after this year\u2019s nominees were announced on Thursday<\/a>, her song \u201cDear Me,\u201d sung by Kesha<\/a>, is up against KPop Demon Hunters<\/a>\u2018 seemingly unbeatable popular favorite, \u201cGolden.\u201d (Fortuitously, Warren won an honorary award from the Academy in 2023 \u201cfor her genius, generosity and passionate commitment to the power of song in film.\u201d)<\/p>\n

\n\tThe rest of the nominees grimacing with anxiety as they learn they\u2019re competing with \u201cGolden\u201d this year include Raphael Saadiq<\/a>, Nick Cave<\/a>, and Nicholas Pike. Those songs all, incidentally, beat out music performed by Nine Inch Nails (for Tron: Ares)<\/a>, Cynthia Erivo (for Wicked: For Good)<\/a>, Ed Sheeran, Dave Grohl, and John Mayer (for F1)<\/a>, and Billy Idol (from Billy Idol: Dying to Live)<\/a>, which had all been shortlisted as contenders. That said, no matter how stacked the deck is, \u201cGolden\u201d is a tough opponent. Vegas oddsmakers will likely pay out golden sums if any of the songs below manage to best the Demon Hunters\u2019 Huntrix singers when the awards show airs on March 15. Celebrate them while the victory feels fresh.<\/p>\n

\t\t\u201cDear Me,\u201d from\u00a0Diane Warren: Relentless
Music and lyrics by Diane Warren\t<\/p>\n

\n\tSongwriter Diane Warren finally got her due in the documentary, Diane Warren: Relentless. Filmmaker Bess Kargman (First Position, Coach) interviewed Jennifer Hudson, Common, and, of course, Kesha, who sang \u201cDear Me,\u201d among others to capture Warren\u2019s spirit. Cher describes her as \u201cunrelenting\u201d in the film, adding, \u201cShe\u2019s just crazy, oh, my God, but she writes great songs.\u201d \u201cDear Me,\u201d of course, is another great song. \u201cDear me, don\u2019t worry \u2019bout it,\u201d Kesha sings on the tune. \u201cYou\u2019re gonna be all right, you\u2019ll see.\u201d They\u2019re words from the heart from Warren, who\u2019s come so close to claiming her own Oscar many times over for more than 30 years now.<\/p>\n

\t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n

\t\t\u201cGolden,\u201d from\u00a0KPop Demon Hunters
Music and lyrics by Ejae, Ido, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Mark Sonnenblick, Teddy, and 24\t<\/p>\n

\n\t2025 belonged to \u201cGolden,\u201d and it may own 2026 as well given the massive popularity of KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix\u2019s most streamed movie ever, up for the Best Animated Feature Oscar) and the song, which the fictional group Huntrix performs in the movie. The track topped Billboard\u2019s Hot 100 for 18 nonconsecutive weeks last year and earned the Number One spot in countries around the world. The RIAA has since certified the song, which bears an unforgettably catchy hook, double platinum. \u201c\u2018Golden\u2019 really means a lot to me, because I feel like at that time, I needed a song like that,\u201d one of the songwriters, Ejae, who is also one of the song\u2019s singers, told Rolling Stone<\/a> last year. The song won the Golden Globe in the same category in January, which may or may not work against it.<\/p>\n

\t\t\u201cI Lied to You,\u201d from\u00a0Sinners
Music and lyrics by Ludwig G\u00f6ransson and Raphael Saadiq\t<\/p>\n

\n\tOne of the most surreal scenes in Sinners, Ryan Coogler\u2019s hit vampire movie, featured Miles Caton playing the blues on an acoustic guitar as a crowded dancehall sways around him. As he plays, icons of Black music history emerge from the crowd: a grio, a Funkadelic guitarist, a bucket-hatted B-boy. \u201cThey say the truth hurts, so I lie to you,\u201d Caton sings. \u201cYes, I lied to you, I love the blues.\u201d Raphael Saadiq cowrote the unforgettable song with the film\u2019s score composer, Ludwig G\u00f6ransson. Saadiq has since performed the song with Caton on Jimmy Kimmel Live!<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n

\t\t\u201cSweet Dreams of Joy,\u201d from\u00a0Viva Verdi!
Music and lyric by Nicholas Pike\t<\/p>\n

\n\tPerhaps the most surprising nominee is Nicholas Pike\u2019s \u201cSweet Dreams of Joy,\u201d which, as of this publication, has garnered only 625 views on YouTube (possibly all by the Academy\u2019s nominating committee?) since it was posted two months ago. A performance video<\/a>, showing soprano Ana Mar\u00eda Mart\u00ednez singing the song, posted a year ago has garnered only 455 views. The song comes from a documentary by filmmaker Yvonne Russo about Milan\u2019s Casa Verdi (built in 1896 by composer Giuseppe Verdi, a retirement home where elderly classical artists coach younger ones. Pike has said he wrote the song<\/a> after feeling the energy and \u201cjoy and passion\u201d of Casa Verdi.<\/p>\n

\t\tRelated Content<\/p>\n

\t\t\u201cTrain Dreams,\u201d from\u00a0Train Dreams
Music by Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner; Lyrics by Nick Cave\t<\/p>\n

\n\tSinger-songwriter Nick Cave in the past has championed Denis Johnson\u2019s feverish 2011 novel about a railroad worker struggling to get by, so he was a natural choice to write a song for filmmaker Clint Bentley\u2019s adaptation of the book. The lyrics retell scenes from the movie, which focuses on a particular section of the novella, as Cave sings about experiencing \u201ccrazy dreams\u201d over sparse piano playing and acoustic guitar by co-writer Bryce Dessner, the film\u2019s score composer who plays guitar in the National. Bentley said he was \u201cblown away\u201d<\/a> when he first heard the song.<\/p>\n