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A visual history · Oscars

The winners who defined Original Song.

91 ceremonies, 1935–2025. 91 different winners.

Who won most recently?
"El Mal" (Emilia Pérez) in 2025.
  1. "El Mal" (Emilia Pérez)Netflix
  2. "What Was I Made For?" (Barbie)Warner Bros. Pictures
  3. "Naatu Naatu" (RRR)DVV Entertainment
  4. "No Time to Die" (No Time to Die)United Artists Releasing
  5. "Fight for You" (Judas and the Black Messiah)Warner Bros.
  6. "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" (Rocketman)Paramount Pictures
Years explored
1935–2025
Different winners
91
Category leader
No leader
About this record

Best Original Song was first awarded in 1935, so it does not run the full 1929–2025 window.

2000–2025

26 ceremonies

19352025

01 / The reigns

26 winners shaped this category.

The timeline turns the 2000–2025 record into a sequence of reigns. Longer bands reveal sustained runs; color shows the credited distributor.

One band per year, because no winner has gone back-to-back in the years on record. Colored by distributor; scroll sideways for the full run.
"You'll Be in My Heart" (Tarzan)'00
"Things Have Changed" (Wonder Boys)'01
"If I Didn't Have You" (Monsters, Inc.)'02
"Lose Yourself" (8 Mile)'03
"Into the West" (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King)'04
"Al otro lado del río" (The Motorcycle Diaries)'05
"It's Hard out Here for a Pimp" (Hustle & Flow)'06
"I Need to Wake Up" (An Inconvenient Truth)'07
"Falling Slowly" (Once)'08
"Jai Ho" (Slumdog Millionaire)'09
"The Weary Kind" (Crazy Heart)'10
"We Belong Together" (Toy Story 3)'11
"Man or Muppet" (The Muppets)'12
"Skyfall" (Skyfall)'13
"Let It Go" (Frozen)'14
"Glory" (Selma)'15
"Writing's on the Wall" (Spectre)'16
"City of Stars" (La La Land)'17
"Remember Me" (Coco)'18
"Shallow" (A Star Is Born)'19
"(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" (Rocketman)'20
"Fight for You" (Judas and the Black Messiah)'21
"No Time to Die" (No Time to Die)'22
"Naatu Naatu" (RRR)'23
"What Was I Made For?" (Barbie)'24
"El Mal" (Emilia Pérez)'25

02 / The power map

Who stood behind the winners?

Disney leads the recorded distributor credits with 7 wins, 2000–2025. The full distribution shows whether power was concentrated or shared.

Disney7 wins
Paramount5 wins
Warner Bros.4 wins
Searchlight2 wins
Sony2 wins
Universal2 wins
Wins by distributor
  1. Disney727%
  2. Paramount519%
  3. Warner Bros.415%
  4. Searchlight28%
  5. Sony28%
  6. Universal28%
  7. Other415%

04 / The archive

Every year.
Every winner.

The complete reference behind the story, showing 2000–2025. Open any year to see the rest of the field when nominee records are available.

YearWinnerDistributor
2025"El Mal" (Emilia Pérez)
beat 4 others
  • "Never Too Late" (Elton John: Never Too Late)
  • "Mi Camino" (Emilia Pérez)
  • "Like a Bird" (Sing Sing)
  • "The Journey" (The Six Triple Eight)
Netflix
2024"What Was I Made For?" (Barbie)
beat 4 others
  • "It Never Went Away" (American Symphony)
  • "I'm Just Ken" (Barbie)
  • "The Fire Inside" (Flamin' Hot)
  • "Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)" (Killers of the Flower Moon)
Warner Bros. Pictures
2023"Naatu Naatu" (RRR)
beat 4 others
  • "Lift Me Up" (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
  • "This Is a Life" (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
  • "Applause" (Tell It Like a Woman)
  • "Hold My Hand" (Top Gun: Maverick)
DVV Entertainment
2022"No Time to Die" (No Time to Die)
beat 4 others
  • "Down to Joy" (Belfast)
  • "Dos Oruguitas" (Encanto)
  • "Somehow You Do" (Four Good Days)
  • "Be Alive" (King Richard)
United Artists Releasing
2021"Fight for You" (Judas and the Black Messiah)
beat 4 others
  • "Husavik" (Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga)
  • "Io sì (Seen)" (The Life Ahead)
  • "Speak Now" (One Night in Miami...)
  • "Hear My Voice" (The Trial of the Chicago 7)
Warner Bros.
2020"(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" (Rocketman)
beat 4 others
  • "I'm Standing with You" (Breakthrough)
  • "Into the Unknown" (Frozen 2)
  • "Stand Up" (Harriet)
  • "I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away" (Toy Story 4)
Paramount Pictures
2019"Shallow" (A Star Is Born)
beat 4 others
  • "When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings" (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs)
  • "All the Stars" (Black Panther)
  • "The Place Where Lost Things Go" (Mary Poppins Returns)
  • "I'll Fight" (RBG)
Warner Bros. Pictures
2018"Remember Me" (Coco)
beat 4 others
  • "Mystery of Love" (Call Me by Your Name)
  • "This Is Me" (The Greatest Showman)
  • "Stand Up for Something" (Marshall)
  • "Mighty River" (Mudbound)
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
2017"City of Stars" (La La Land)
beat 4 others
  • "The Empty Chair" (Jim: The James Foley Story)
  • "Audition (The Fools Who Dream)" (La La Land)
  • "How Far I'll Go" (Moana)
  • "Can't Stop the Feeling!" (Trolls)
Lionsgate
2016"Writing's on the Wall" (Spectre)
beat 4 others
  • "Earned It" (Fifty Shades of Grey)
  • "Til It Happens to You" (The Hunting Ground)
  • "Manta Ray" (Racing Extinction)
  • "Simple Song #3" (Youth)
Sony Pictures Releasing
2015"Glory" (Selma)
beat 4 others
  • "Lost Stars" (Begin Again)
  • "Grateful" (Beyond the Lights)
  • "I'm Not Gonna Miss You" (Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me)
  • "Everything Is Awesome" (The Lego Movie)
Paramount Pictures
2014"Let It Go" (Frozen)
beat 3 others
  • "Happy" (Despicable Me 2)
  • "The Moon Song" (Her)
  • "Ordinary Love" (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom)
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
2013"Skyfall" (Skyfall)
beat 4 others
  • "Before My Time" (Chasing Ice)
  • "Suddenly" (Les Misérables)
  • "Pi's Lullaby" (Life of Pi)
  • "Everybody Needs a Best Friend" (Ted)
Columbia Pictures
2012"Man or Muppet" (The Muppets)
beat 1 other
  • "Real in Rio" (Rio)
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
2011"We Belong Together" (Toy Story 3)
beat 3 others
  • "If I Rise" (127 Hours)
  • "Coming Home" (Country Strong)
  • "I See the Light" (Tangled)
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
2010"The Weary Kind" (Crazy Heart)
beat 4 others
  • "Take It All" (Nine)
  • "Loin de Paname" (Paris 36)
  • "Almost There" (The Princess and the Frog)
  • "Down in New Orleans" (The Princess and the Frog)
Fox Searchlight Pictures
2009"Jai Ho" (Slumdog Millionaire)
beat 2 others
  • "O... Saya" (Slumdog Millionaire)
  • "Down to Earth" (WALL-E)
Fox Searchlight Pictures
2008"Falling Slowly" (Once)
beat 4 others
  • "Happy Working Song" (Enchanted)
  • "So Close" (Enchanted)
  • "That's How You Know" (Enchanted)
  • "Raise It Up" (August Rush)
Buena Vista International
2007"I Need to Wake Up" (An Inconvenient Truth)
beat 4 others
  • "Our Town" (Cars)
  • "Listen" (Dreamgirls)
  • "Love You I Do" (Dreamgirls)
  • "Patience" (Dreamgirls)
Paramount Classics
2006"It's Hard out Here for a Pimp" (Hustle & Flow)
beat 2 others
  • "In the Deep" (Crash)
  • "Travelin' Thru" (Transamerica)
Paramount Classics
2005"Al otro lado del río" (The Motorcycle Diaries)
beat 4 others
  • "Look to Your Path" (The Chorus)
  • "Learn to Be Lonely" (The Phantom of the Opera)
  • "Believe" (The Polar Express)
  • "Accidentally in Love" (Shrek 2)
Focus Features
2004"Into the West" (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King)
beat 4 others
  • "Scarlet Tide" (Cold Mountain)
  • "You Will Be My Ain True Love" (Cold Mountain)
  • "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" (A Mighty Wind)
  • "Belleville Rendez-vous" (The Triplets of Belleville)
New Line Cinema
2003"Lose Yourself" (8 Mile)
beat 4 others
  • "I Move On" (Chicago)
  • "Burn It Blue" (Frida)
  • "The Hands That Built America" (Gangs of New York)
  • "Father and Daughter" (The Wild Thornberrys Movie)
Universal Pictures
2002"If I Didn't Have You" (Monsters, Inc.)
beat 4 others
  • "Until..." (Kate & Leopold)
  • "May It Be" (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring)
  • "There You'll Be" (Pearl Harbor)
  • "Vanilla Sky" (Vanilla Sky)
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
2001"Things Have Changed" (Wonder Boys)
beat 4 others
  • "A Love Before Time" (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon)
  • "I've Seen It All" (Dancer in the Dark)
  • "My Funny Friend and Me" (The Emperor's New Groove)
  • "A Fool in Love" (Meet the Parents)
Paramount Pictures
2000"You'll Be in My Heart" (Tarzan)
beat 4 others
  • "Save Me" (Magnolia)
  • "Music of My Heart" (Music of the Heart)
  • "Blame Canada" (South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut)
  • "When She Loved Me" (Toy Story 2)
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution