Nick Cave, Nine Inch Nails, Ed Sheeran and KPop Demon Hunters have been shortlisted for the 2026 Oscars Best Original Song.
Up to 65 songs were eligible for nomination, which have now been shortened to a selection of 15.
They include Cave’s track ‘Train Dreams’ from the film of the same name, Sheeran’s ‘Drive’ from the film F1, starring Brad Pitt and ‘Golden’ from KPop Demon Hunters’ fictional girl group HUNTR/X.
For the second year in a row, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross appear on the shortlists for both Best Original Song and Best Original Score. This time, however, it’s for their work as Nine Inch Nails on the recent Tron: Ares film, with ‘As Alive As You Need Me’ appearing on the Best Original Song shortlist.
Among the other highlights in the Best Original Score nominations are Radiohead‘s Jonny Greenwood for One Battle After Another, The National‘s Bryce Dessner for Train Dreams and Hans Zimmer for F1.
Other songs in the Best Original Song section include Miley Cyrus for ‘Dream As One’, her contribution to Avatar: Fire And Ash, Kesha for ‘Dear Me’, a track from Diane Warren: Restless and Billy Idol and J. Ralph for their song ‘Dying To Live’, which appears in the former’s new documentary, Billy Idol Should Be Dead. You can view the full lists for Best Original Song and Best Original Score below.
Best Original Song:
‘As Alive As You Need Me To Be’ from Tron: Ares – Nine Inch Nails, Boys Noize
‘Dear Me’ from Diane Warren: Relentless – Kesha
‘Dream As One’ from Avatar: Fire and Ash – Miley Cyrus
‘Drive’ from F1 – Ed Sheeran
‘Dying To Live’ from Billy Idol Should Be Dead – Billy Idol, J. Ralph
‘The Girl In The Bubble’ from Wicked: For Good – Ariana Grande
‘Golden’ from KPop Demon Hunters – HUNTR/X
‘Highest 2 Lowest’ from Highest 2 Lowest – Aiyana-Lee
‘I Lied To You’ from Sinners – Miles Caton
‘Last Time (I Seen The Sun)’ from Sinners – Alice Smith, Miles Caton
‘No Place Like Home’ from Wicked: For Good – Cynthia Erivo
‘Our Love’ from The Ballad of Wallis Island – Tom Badsen, Carey Mulligan
‘Salt Then Sour Then Sweet’ from Come See Me in the Good Light – Sara Bareilles
‘Sweet Dreams Of Joy’ from Viva Verdi! – Nicholas Pike, Ana María Martínez
‘Train Dreams’ from Train Dreams – Nick Cave
Best Original Score:
Avatar: Fire and Ash – Simon Franglen
Bugonia – Jerskin Fendrix
Captain America: Brave New World – Laura Karpman
Diane Warren: Relentless – Lesley Barber
F1 – Hans Zimmer
Frankenstein – Alexandre Desplat
Hamnet – Max Richter
Hedda – Hildur Guðnadóttir
A House Of Dynamite – Volker Bertelmann
Jay Kelly – Nicholas Britell
Marty Supreme – Daniel Lopatin
Nuremberg – Brian Tyler
One Battle After Another – Jonny Greenwood
Sinners – Ludwig Göransson
Sirât – Kangding Ray
Train Dreams – Bryce Dessner
Tron: Ares – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
Truth And Treason – Aaron Zigman
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery – Nathan Johnson
Wicked: For Good – John Powell, Stephen Schwartz
The 98th Academy Awards will take place on March 15, 2026, with Conan O’Brien returning as host. The full list of nominations will be announced on Thursday, January 22, 2026.
This year’s Best Original Song was awarded to the song ‘El Mal’ in Emilia Pérez, and Best Original Score went to The Brutalist.