The Oscars has 24 categories (up from 23, with Casting introduced this year). Some make for flashy races everyone pays close attention to, filled with celebrities and rising stars; others are more niche, likely to introduce you to talented artists you’ve never seen in front of a camera. But if there’s one category that consistently under-delivers on its potential, it’s Best Original Song.
Whatever it might’ve been once upon a time, the Best Song category is usually a snooze. With outright musicals now a rarity, many of the nominees are songs from high-profile artists that play over the credits. For the Academy, this has the benefit of getting name musicians to perform during the ceremony. But it makes for nominees that are tough to invest in if you’re someone who loves the movies – i.e. the Oscars’ target audience.
There are two things usually discussed about this particular race every year: which random movie will get to market itself as “Oscar-nominated” for all time (I’m looking at you, Flamin’ H๏τ); and whether Dianne Warren, whose 16 nominations date back to 1987 and include each of the last eight years, will finally win.
But the 2026 Oscars are different – so different, in fact, that I’ve been using Best Song to get people excited.
2026’s Best Original Song Is A Race For The Ages
A year ago, the expectation would’ve been that this is Wicked‘s category to lose. The first movie of this two-part adaptation of the Broadway musical was a big hit, with audiences and with the Academy, and had Best Song been one of Wicked‘s 10 nominations, it likely would’ve won.
Alas, all of Wicked: Part One‘s songs were from the stage musical, and thus couldn’t qualify. But the film’s campaign called much attention to Part Two including two new songs from original composer Stephen Schwartz, an early signal that the movie was coming for this category. Those songs have since been confirmed as solos for Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, so they’re undeniably heavyweights.
But the Wicked team couldn’t have foreseen a Netflix animated K-pop musical getting so popular that its soundtrack went platinum.
KPop Demon Hunters, and more specifically the hit single “Golden,” is officially the Best Original Song frontrunner. The film is likely to walk away with Best Animated Feature, and given its popularity, there’s an outside chance it could sneak into the Best Picture lineup. But this is the one place everyone will expect it to win. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it score multiple nominations, like Emilia Pérez and Barbie before it.
Once Wicked: Part Two comes out and people get to hear those new songs, that may change, but it’s hard to imagine anything eclipsing the success of “Golden” this year. And Wicked also has the good fortune of being a likely contender in multiple places. If voters want to make sure it doesn’t go away empty-handed, they will have other boxes to check on their ballots.
Best Original Song is hardly a two-horse race, either. Sinners, one of the current chief contenders for Best Picture, surprised audiences by being a vampire musical of sorts, and its songs left a big impression. The movie’s most pivotal scene is all about the transcendent power of great music, and could make for one hell of an exciting live performance (though I think “Pale, Pale Moon,” which relies less on the film’s visuals, is the more likely nominee).
More films will contend in this category, and we’ll likely get at least one credits song from a major artist in the bunch. But a race filled with good songs that actually play critical roles in their movies is something to celebrate.
And it’ll be good for the Academy, too. Can you think of a better Oscars moment in recent memory than Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken” performance? With KPop Demon Hunters, Sinners, and Wicked on deck, the 2026 telecast just might top it.
