Just as movie buffs wait all year to see what film will take home the coveted Oscar for Best Picture, music gurus also tune in to the iconic awards show to check out who will win Best Original Song. The category was first introduced at the seventh annual Academy Awards which took place in 1934 and saw “The Continental” – from “The Gay Divorcee” – take home the win. The song had music by Con Conrad and lyrics by Herb Magidson, stars of yesteryear. The award has since named many current, high-profile winners including Lionel Richie, John Legend, Adele, and Billie Eilish.
In order to be nominated for this award, the songwriter’s composition must have been written for a film. “An original song consists of words and music, both of which are original and written specifically for the motion picture,” the official rules for the Academy Awards read. “There must be a clearly audible, intelligible, substantive rendition (not necessarily visually presented) of both lyric and melody, used in the body of the motion picture or as the first music cue in the end credits.”
One of the most exciting aspects of the category is finding out which artists will take the stage to perform their original song, and over the years, there has been no shortage of star power. In 2023, the highly-anticipated performance from Rihanna of “Lift Me Up” from the “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” soundtrack made headlines shortly after her Super Bowl halftime show, which marked her comeback to music and also saw her announce her second pregnancy.
While Rihanna may be one of the most recent nominees in this category, over the years, the winners have been both deserving and sometimes surprising. Scroll ahead to check out the most memorable Oscars Best Original Song winners from the history of the awards show.
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Lionel Richie: "Say You, Say Me"
Richie took home the award for “Say You, Say Me” in 1985. The song was part of the soundtrack for the movie “White Nights,” a musical drama starring Mikhail Baryshnikov, Gregory Hines, Jerzy Skolimowski, Helen Mirren and Isabella Rossellini.
Richie was tasked with writing the song – which is a soft R&B ballad – by the film’s director Taylor Hackford.
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James Horner and Will Jennings: "My Heart Will Go On"
Horner and Jennings scored the Oscar for “My Heart Will Go On” at the 70th Academy Awards in 1998. The song, of course, was from the 1997 film “Titanic,” which starred Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Billy Zane, and Kathy Bates.
The track was composed by Horner with lyrics by Jennings, and was famously sung by Celine Dion, who performed the song at the award show prior to their win that year.
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Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg: "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"
Still one of the most recognizable songs of all time, Arlen (composer) and Harburg (lyrics) snagged the award for their work on “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” from “The Wizard of Oz” in 1939. In the movie, the legendary Judy Garland, who played Dorthy Gale, sung the track.
Over seven decades later – with Garland’s children in the audience – Pink performed the song at the 2014 Oscars in honor of the 74th anniversary of the film.
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Leigh Harline and Ned Washington: "When You Wish Upon a Star"
“When You Wish Upon a Star” from “Pinocchio” was the first-ever Disney song to win an Oscar. The track – which is about dreaming big – was composed by Harline and written by both he and Washington.
The song was sung by Cliff Edwards, who voiced Jiminy Cricket.
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Common and John Legend: "Glory"
Common and John Legend won the 2015 Oscar for their powerful song about the civil rights movement from the movie “Selma.” The duo not only delivered a beautiful performance of “Glory” prior to their win, but also gave an emotional speech upon accepting the award.
“We wrote this song for a film that was based on events that were 50 years ago, but we say that Selma is now because the struggle for justice is right now,” Legend said. “We live in the most incarcerated country in the world. There are more Black men under correctional control today than were under slavery in 1850. When people are marching with our song, we want to tell you, ‘We are with you. We see you. We love you. And march on.'”
Common also spoke to Rolling Stone prior to the Grammys that same year, explaining that music like “Glory” is why he does what he does. “This is what I live for,” he explained. “This is what I want to do as an artist. This is who I want to be as a person – to be able to speak up and say things that can impact people’s lives, and things that can be inspiring to human beings.”
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Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez: "Let It Go"
The super-catchy “Let It Go” – sung by Idina Menzel – from “Frozen” won husband-and-wife duo Kristen and Robert the Oscar in 2014. Menzel delivered a movie-themed performance at the show just before the Lopezes’ win.
The song is not only loved by children who adore the movie, but by adults for the complexity of its lyrics.
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Frank Loesser: "Baby, It's Cold Outside"
While it may be a surprise to many, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” was originally written by Loesser for the 1949 film “Neptune’s Daughter.” The songwriter won the Academy Award for the still-popular (and often controversial) Christmas song, which was first performed by Ricardo Montalbán and Esther Williams.
Over the years, the track has been reimagined dozens of times.
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Eminem, Jeff Bass and Luis Resto: "Lose Yourself"
History was made at the 2003 Academy Awards when “Lose Yourself” from “8 Mile” became the first-ever hip-hop song to win an Oscar. The track was performed by Eminem in the film, however, he was not on hand to accept the award – but made up for it 17 years later.
In 2020, Eminem made a surprise appearance to finally perform the song at the Oscars, and opened up to Variety about why he chose to do so. “I kinda figured maybe since I didn’t get a chance to do it at the time, maybe it would be cool,” he explained. “Back then, I never even thought that I had a chance to win, and we had just performed ‘Lose Yourself’ on the Grammys with the Roots a couple of weeks before the Oscars, so we didn’t think it was a good idea. And also, back at that time, the younger me didn’t really feel like a show like that would understand me.”
He added: “But then when I found out I won, ‘That’s crazy!’ That to me shows how authentic and real that award is – when you don’t show up and you still win. That makes it very real to me.”
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Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields: "The Way You Look Tonight"
In 1936, Kern (composer) and Fields (lyrics) won the award for “The Way You Look Tonight” from the film “Swing Time.” In the movie, Fred Astaire sings the romantic song to co-star Ginger Rogers.
“The Way You Look Tonight” was later recorded by Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Rod Stewart, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald and many more iconic singers. Over the years, it continues to be a favorite song for first dances at weddings.
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H.E.R., Tiara Thomas and Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II: "First for You"
“First for You” – the powerful single from “Judas and the Black Messiah” – won the 2021 Academy Award for Best Original Song. The award was given to singer-songwriters H.E.R, Thomas and producer Emile II, who all accepted the honor onstage.
“I did not expect to win this award. I am so, so, so, so grateful,” said H.E.R. during the acceptance speech. “Not only to win but to be a part of such an important story, so thank you so much. Thank you to the Academy – I’ve always wanted to say that.”
The artist added of the film’s message: “I believe we have an opportunity and a responsibility, to me, to tell the truth, and to write history the way that it was and how it connects us to today and what we see going on in the world today. Knowledge is power, music is power and as long as I’m standing, I’m always going to fight for us. I’m always going to fight for my people and fight for what’s right. And I think that’s what music does, that’s what storytelling does. Thank you.”
