2023 Primetime Emmy Nominees in the 7 Music Categories: Complete List
Written by djfrosty on July 12, 2023
Adam Blackstone, who won his first Primetime Emmy last year for outstanding music direction for his work on the Super Bowl Halftime Show, has double nominations in that category this year. He is nominated as music director of the 2022 Rock and Roll Hall Fame Induction Ceremony and as one of two music directors on The Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show Starring Rihanna (his co-nominee is Omar Edwards).
Two other past winners in that same category, Greg Phillinganes and Rickey Minor, are also nominated again. Phillinganes, who won in 2015 for Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life – An All-Star Grammy Salute, is nominated for his work on another salute to a music legend – Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song: Joni Mitchell. Minor, who has won twice in the category, for Taking the Stage: African American Music and Stories That Changed America and the Kennedy Center Honors, is nominated for The Oscars.
The nominations were announced on Wednesday (July 12). The awards will be presented on Monday Sept. 18.
Pop music titans Ed Sheeran and Max Martin were nominated, along with Foy Vance, for outstanding original music and lyrics for “A Beautiful Game,” which they wrote for an episode of Ted Lasso. A second song from that series, “Fought & Lost,” was nominated in that same category. It was co-written by Tom Howe, Jamie Hartman and Sam Ryder.
Nicholas Britell has two of the five nominees for outstanding music composition for a series (original dramatic score). He is up for his work on Andor and Succession. Britell is also nominated for outstanding original main title theme music for Andor.
Nora Felder, last year’s winner for outstanding music supervision for Stranger Things, is nominated again in that category for her work on that buzzy series.
Danny Elfman has two nominations for his work on Wednesday. He is nominated for outstanding music composition for a series (original dramatic score) in tandem with co-nominee Chris Bacon and for outstanding original main title theme music.
Laura Karpman has two nods for her work on Ms. Marvel. She is nominated for outstanding music composition for a limited or anthology series, movie or special (original dramatic score) and outstanding original main title theme music.
The 75th Emmy Awards will telecast live coast-to-coast from Los Angeles on Monday, Sept. 18, (8:00-11:00 p.m. ET/5:00-8:00 p.m. PT) on FOX. Emmy winners Jesse Collins and Dionne Harmon and Emmy nominee Jeannae Rouzan-Clay of Jesse Collins Entertainment will executive produce the show.
Here’s a complete list of nominees in the seven music categories.
Outstanding Music Direction
- The Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show Starring Rihanna; FOX; Jesse Collins Entertainment, DPS and Roc Nation; Adam Blackstone, Music Director; Omar Edwards, Music Director
- Library Of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song: Joni Mitchell; PBS; Ken Ehrlich Productions, Inc., Library of Congress; WETA; Greg Phillinganes, Music Director
- The Oscars; ABC; Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; Rickey Minor, Music Director
- 2022 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony; HBO Max; A Tenth Planet Production; Adam Blackstone, Music Director
- Saturday Night Live; Host: Austin Butler; NBC; SNL Studios in association with Universal Television and Broadway Video; Lenny Pickett, Music Director; Leon Pendarvis, Music Director; Eli Brueggemann, Music Director
Outstanding Music Supervision
- Daisy Jones & The Six; “Track 8: Looks Like We Made It”; Prime Video; Hello Sunshine, Amazon Studios; Frankie Pine, Music Supervisor
- The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel; “Four Minutes”; Prime Video; Amazon Studios; Robin Urdang, Music Supervisor
- Stranger Things; “Chapter Nine: The Piggyback”; Netflix; Monkey Massacre Productions & 21 Laps Entertainment for Netflix; Nora Felder, Music Supervisor
- Ted Lasso; “So Long, Farewell”; Apple TV+; Apple presents a Doozer Production in association with Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television; Tony Von Pervieux, Music Supervisor; Christa Miller, Music Supervisor
- The White Lotus; “Bull Elephants”; HBO Max; HBO in association with Rip Cord and The District; Gabe Hilfer, Music Supervisor
Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics
- Ginny & Georgia; “Hark! Darkness Descends!” / Song Title: “Marriage Is a Dungeon”; Netflix; A Netflix Original Series; Lili Haydn, Music & Lyrics; Ben Bromfield, Music & Lyrics
- The L Word: Generation Q; “Questions for the Universe” / Song Title: “All About Me”; Showtime; SHOWTIME Presents, An MLR Original; Heather McIntosh, Music & Lyrics; Taura Stinson, Music & Lyrics; Allyson Newman, Music & Lyrics
- The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel; “Susan” / Song Title: “Your Personal Trash Man Can”; Prime Video; Amazon Studios; Curtis Moore, Music & Lyrics; Thomas Mizer, Music & Lyrics
- Ted Lasso; “Mom City” / Song Title: “Fought & Lost”; Apple TV+; Apple presents a Doozer Production in association with Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television; Tom Howe, Music & Lyrics; Jamie Hartman, Music & Lyrics; Sam Ryder, Music & Lyrics
- Ted Lasso; “So Long, Farewell” / Song Title: “A Beautiful Game”; Apple TV+; Apple presents a Doozer Production in association with Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television; Ed Sheeran, Music & Lyrics; Foy Vance, Music & Lyrics; Max Martin, Music & Lyrics
- Weird: The Al Yankovic Story; Song Title: “Now You Know”; The Roku Channel; The Roku Channel, Funny or Die, Tango Entertainment; Al Yankovic, Music & Lyrics
Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score)
- Andor; “Rix Road”; Disney+; Lucasfilm Ltd.; Nicholas Britell, Composer
- The Last of Us; “Long, Long Time”; HBO Max; HBO in association with Sony Pictures Television Studios, PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog; Gustavo Santaolalla, Composer
- Succession; “Connor’s Wedding”; HBO Max; HBO in association with Project Zeus, Hyberobject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions and Hot Seat Productions; Nicholas Britell, Composer
- Wednesday; “Woe Is the Loneliest Number”; Netflix; A Netflix Series / An MGM Television Production; Danny Elfman, Composer; Chris Bacon, Composer
- The White Lotus; “In the Sandbox”; HBO Max; HBO in association with Rip Cord and The District; Cristobal Tapia de Veer, Composer
Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special (Original Dramatic Score)
- Hocus Pocus 2; Disney+; Walt Disney Pictures; John Debney, Composer
- Ms. Marvel; Time and Again; Disney+; Marvel Studios; Laura Karpman, Composer
- Prey; Hulu; 20th Century Studios; Sarah Schachner, Composer
- A Small Light; What Can Be Saved; National Geographic; ABC Signature; Ariel Marx, Composer
- Weird: The Al Yankovic Story; The Roku Channel; The Roku Channel, Funny or Die, Tango Entertainment; Leo Birenberg, Composer; Zach Robinson, Composer
Outstanding Music Composition for a Documentary Series or Special (Original Dramatic Score)
- Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico; Veracruz; CNN; CNN Original Series, RAW; Tony Morales, Composer
- Light & Magic; Gang of Outsiders; Disney+; Imagine Documentaries and Lucasfilm Ltd.; James Newton Howard, Composer
- Pamela, A Love Story; Netflix; A Netflix Documentary / A Dorothy St Pictures, Tripod Media, and Colony Entertainment Production; Blake Neely, Composer
- Prehistoric Planet; Badlands; Apple TV+; BBC Studios in association with Apple; Hans Zimmer, Composer; Anže Rozman, Composer; Kara Talve, Composer
- Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie • Apple TV+ • An Apple Original Film in association with Concordia Studio; John Powell, Composer
Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music
- Andor; Disney+; Lucasfilm Ltd.; Nicholas Britell, Composer
- Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities; Netflix; Netflix / Double Dare You; Holly Amber Church, Composer
- The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power; Prime Video; Amazon Studios; Howard Shore, Composer
- Ms. Marvel; Disney+; Marvel Studios; Laura Karpman, Composer
- Wednesday; Netflix; A Netflix Series / An MGM Television Production; Danny Elfman, Composer