Although this year's Oscars ceremony was light on "Best Original Song" performances, the 98th Academy Awards still took some time to honor recent musical achievements within the film industry. Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson locked in his third career Oscar win tonight (March 15) for his work on Sinners, while the ladies behind the fictional K-pop girl group HUNTR/X won "Best Original Song" for the animated Netflix movie KPop Demon Hunters.
Göransson beat out four other contenders in the field for this year’s "Best Original Score" trophy: Alexandre Desplat (for Frankenstein), Jerskin Fendrix (for Bugonia), Jonny Greenwood (for One Battle After Another), and Max Richter (for Hamnet). The composer previously won the award for his work on Black Panther (2019) and Oppenheimer (2024).
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Göransson accepted the Oscar from the reunited cast of Bridesmaids at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre, and went on to thank his father for introducing him to music as a kid.
“My dad bought his first blues album in Sweden, 1964. It was a John Lee Hooker album, and even though it was on the other side of the world in a place my dad had never been, and a place he could not relate to, the music was so powerful that it changed my dad’s life and he devoted his whole life to music," he said. "When I was about seven years old, a little boy, he put a guitar in my arms and I loved the guitar. It became everything to me. It was the guitar that opened up a lot of doors for and it was the guitar that brought me over to the States. It was the guitar that eventually led me to one of the greatest storytellers of our time: Ryan Coogler. Ryan, thank you for your vision and making a movie that resonated with the whole world. Thank you.”
After Göransson's win, HUNTR/X’s EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami won "Best Original Song" for “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters. It was their first-ever nomination and Oscar win..and the first time a K-pop song had won in the "Best Original Song" category.
"Golden" triumphed in a playing field that included songs from Sinners, Train Dreams, Viva Verdi!, and Diane Warren: Relentless. Lionel Richie presented the Academy Award to the full songwriting team behind “Golden,” who passed the statuette around. EJAE took to the microphone to thank the Academy, her family, and the entire creative team behind Kpop Demon Hunters. “Growing up, people made fun of me for liking K-pop,” she said. “Now everyone is singing our song, and in all of the Korean lyrics. I’m so proud. I realize this award is not about success; it’s about resilience.” Songwriting team member Yu Han Lee then went up to the microphone to say some words, but was abruptly cut off mid-speech.
Only two "Best Original Song" nominees got the full Oscars live performance treatment this year. The first was the Sinners track "I Lied to You," which was led by actor Miles Caton and Raphael Saadiq. In a recreation of the movie's iconic juke joint scene, the men were joined by a stacked lineup that included blues legend Buddy Guy, Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes, Shaboozey, ballerina Misty Copeland, and more.
The second track was "Golden," of course. EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami took to the stage to perform their worldwide hit IRL. After a traditional Korean dance performance reflecting the inspiration behind KPop Demon Hunters, the trio belted the song to the Oscars crowd, who waved glowing yellow lights back at them.
Besides those two performances, there were other surprising musical moments that happened throughout the night. Josh Groban sang a comedic number during the show's beginning - helping host Conan O'Brien out with an onstage sketch. During the show's 'In Memoriam' portion, musical theatre legend Barbra Streisand honored the late Robert Redford with a speech followed by her singing a stanza from their co-starring romantic comedy The Way We Were (1973). Later on, Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor reunited to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Moulin Rouge!. While presenting, the pair sang a snippet from their musical film together.
The 98th Academy Awards was broadcast on ABC and Hulu. One Battle After Another dominated this year, winning Best Picture, Best Director for Paul Thomas Anderson, and Best Supporting Actor for Sean Penn. (It scored six wins in total.) Sinners followed suit with four wins, including Best Actor for Michael B. Jordan.
Check out some live musical moments from the 98th Academy Awards below.
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Article Image: Ludwig Göransson holding up his second Oscar in 2024, The women of the fictional K-pop group HUNTR/X hug while performing at the 98th Academy Awards. (Jean_Nelson via DepositPhotos, gqindia via Instagram)
