Oscars 2025: Elton John, Pharrell Williams, Trent Reznor among shortlist for Best Original Song

The shortlists for Best Original Song and Best Original Score at the Oscars 2025 have been revealed – see the full lists below.

• READ MORE: ‘Kneecap’ review: ballsy, brave and one of the best music biopics ever made

Last night (December 17), the Academy announced the shortlists for several categories for the 2025 awards ceremony. Among the revealed lists are Best Original Song and Best Original Score.

The shortlist for Best Original Song includes songs that were written specifically for the films they appear in. Among the shortlist are several major names from the music industry including Elton John, Pharrell Williams, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Kneecap and more.

Elton John’s and Brandi Carlile‘s ‘Never Too Late’ is listed for Elton John: Never Too Late, while Kneecap’s ‘Sick In The Head’ is listed for their self-titled biopic. Pharrell Williams’ ‘Piece By Piece’ off the Lego-film of the same name, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ ‘Compress / Repress’ from Challengers, Selena Gomez‘s ‘Mi Camino’ from Emilia Pérez, Robbie Williams‘ ‘Forbidden Road’ off Better Man and more have also been included in the shortlist – see the full shortlist below.

The shortlist for Best Original Song is:

Aaron Pierre & Tiffany Boone – ‘Tell Me It’s You’ (Mufasa: The Lion King)
Adrian Quesada & Abraham Alexander – ‘Like a Bird’ (Sing Sing)
Auli‘i Cravalho Featuring Rachel House – ‘Beyond’ (Moana 2)
Camille, Zoe Saldaña & Karla Sofía Gascón – ‘El Mal’ (Emilia Pérez)
Elton John & Brandi Carlile – ‘Never Too Late’ (Elton John: Never Too Late)
Kneecap – ‘Sick in the Head’ (Kneecap)
Kristen Wiig – ‘Harper and Will Go West’ (Will & Harper)
Lainey Wilson – ‘Out of Oklahoma’ (Twisters)
Maren Morris – ‘Kiss the Sky’ (The Wild Robot)
Pharrell Williams & Princess Anne High School Fabulous Marching Cavaliers – ‘Piece by Piece’ (Piece by Piece)
Robbie Williams – ‘Forbidden Road’ (Better Man)
Saoirse Ronan & Nicholas Britell – ‘Winter Coat’ (Blitz)
Selena Gomez – ‘Mi Camino’ (Emilia Pérez)
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – ‘Compress / Repress’ (Challengers)

Meanwhile, several major blockbusters have had their scored listed in the shortlist for Best Original Score. These include Wicked, Gladiator 2, Challengers, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Alien: Romulus and more.

The shortlist for Best Original Score is:

Aaron Zigman – The Six Triple Eight
Amelia Warner – Young Woman and the Sea
Andrea Datzman – Inside Out 2
Alberto Iglesias – The Room Next Door
Benjamin Wallfisch – Alien: Romulus
Bryce Dessner – Sing Sing
Chanda Dancy – Blink Twice
Clément Ducol & Camille – Emilia Pérez
Cristobal Tapia de Veer – Babygirl
Daniel Blumberg – The Brutalist
Danny Elfman – Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Hans Zimmer – Blitz
Harry Gregson-Williams – Gladiator II
John Cardon Debney – Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1
Kris Bowers – The Wild Robot
Robin Carolan – Nosferatu
Tamar-kali – The Fire Inside
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – Challengers
Volker Bertelmann – Conclave
John Powell & Stephen Schwartz – Wicked

Kneecap’s acclaimed self-titled biopic has also notably been included in the shortlist for Best International Feature.

NME caught up with Kneecap at Reading and Leeds Festival in August to speak about what a potential Oscar nomination would mean to them. At the time of the interview, the group knew they would be on the longlist of nominations from the IFTA, but were hopeful to make it further in the process and get shortlisted.

They said at the time: “We just made that film because we thought it was a cool story to tell, it was our story in the Irish language in Belfast. The fact it resonates with people from other cultures and other Indigenous languages is a bonus for us…considering every 40 days there’s an Indigenous language lost. The more languages we lose, the less perspectives we have on life.”

NME described Kneecap as “arguably one of the best music biopics of all time” in our five-star review, naming it as our best film of 2024.

“Unapologetically ballsy and brave, Kneecap has no business being as good as it is – not only one of the standout films of 2024, but arguably one of the best music biopics of all time,” wrote NME‘s Andrew Trendell. “So, with much thought and time to percolate, here’s your full analysis: Holy shit, fuck me, what a film.”

Earlier this month Kneecap took home seven wins at the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA), including a joint lead accolade for its stars.

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