Creative Arts Emmys
Benj Pasek and Justin Paul won a Primetime Emmy for outstanding music and lyrics for a song they co-wrote for Only Murders in the Building on Sunday (Sept. 8), the second night of the Creative Arts Emmys. They are the 20th and 21st individuals to EGOT – to win at least one Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony in competition.
Pasek and Paul have set a new record for the fastest climb to an EGOT – a little less than seven years and seven months from the date of their first EGOT win. The old record was held by Robert Lopez, who took nine years and eight months from the time he collected his first EGOT award in June 2004 to the time he completed the journey in March 2014.
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Pasek and Paul are the second pair to achieve the EGOT as a team. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice won each of the four awards as a team – a Tony for best original score for Evita, a Grammy for best cast show album for Evita, an Oscar for best original song for “You Must Love Me” from Evita and an Emmy for outstanding variety special (live) for Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert.
In addition, Pasek, who is 39 years and three months old, is the second-youngest EGOT winner ever, trailing only Lopez, who was 39 and one week old when he achieved the feat in March 2014.
Pasek is the fourth individual who is publicly LGBTQ to achieve the EGOT, following actor Sir John Gielgud (1991), producer Scott Rudin (2012) and Sir Elton John (2024).
Pasek and Paul won their Primetime Emmy for co-writing the song “Which of the Pickwick Triplets Did It?” for Only Murders in the Building with another songwriting team, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. While this was the first Emmy win for Pasek and Paul, and also for Wittman, Shaiman had won before. He won outstanding individual achievement in writing in a variety or music program for cowriting the 1992 Oscars, hosted by his longtime friend Billy Crystal.
Series star Steve Martin, who is nominated for a Primetime Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series, performed the tongue-twisting song.
Pasek and Paul won their first EGOT-qualifying award, an Oscar for best original song, in February 2017 for co-writing “City of Stars” from La La Land with composer Justin Hurwitz. They won a Tony for best original score that June for Dear Evan Hansen and won a second Tony in June 2022 for being among the platoon of producers of A Strange Loop, which was voted best musical. They won their first Grammy, best musical theater album, in January 2018 for Dear Evan Hansen and their second, best compilation soundtrack for visual media, in February 2019 for The Greatest Showman.
Sir Elton John was the most recent person to complete the EGOT before Pasek & Paul. He did so when he won a Primetime Emmy for Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium at the ceremony in January (which was delayed for four months by union strikes). This is the fourth time that two or more people have become EGOTs in the same calendar year. Helen Hayes and Rita Moreno both became EGOTs in 1977. Mel Brooks and Mike Nichols both scored in 2001. Webber, Rice and Legend all completed their EGOT journeys in 2018.
In other music news from night 2 of the Creative Arts Emmys, Carlos Rafael Rivera won outstanding music composition for a limited or anthology series, movie or special (original dramatic score) for Lessons in Chemistry (Apple TV+). It’s his third Emmy. He won in the same category three years ago for The Queen’s Gambit and for outstanding main title theme music in 2018 for Godless.
Siddhartha Khosla won outstanding music composition for a series (original dramatic score) for Only Murders in the Building. It’s his first Emmy on his seventh nod.
Jeff Toyne won outstanding original main title theme music for Palm Royale (Apple TV+). It’s his first Emmy. He had a second nod this year, outstanding music composition for a series (original dramatic score).
Trygge Toven won outstanding music supervision for Fallout. It’s his first Emmy nod and win.
Jamie Lee Curtis won outstanding guest actress in a comedy for The Bear. It’s her first Primetime Emmy win. Her father, Tony Curtis, was nominated in 1980 for outstanding lead actor in a limited series or a special for his role in NBC’s Moviola.
Shōgun was the top winner across the two nights of the Creative Arts Emmys, with 14 awards. The Bear placed second, with seven awards, followed by Saturday Night Live (six), Jim Henson Idea Man (five), Blue Eye Samurai and The Oscars (four each).
Billy Joel: The 100th – Live At Madison Square Garden, Only Murders In The Building, Ripley and Welcome To Wrexham each won three awards. Baby Reindeer, The Crown, Girls State, How I Met Your Father, Love on the Spectrum, The Morning Show and Mr. & Mrs. Smith each won two.
Here’s a report on Night 1 of the Creative Arts Emmys.
The 2024 edition of the Oscars won outstanding variety special (live) on night one of the Creative Arts Emmys. It’s the first time the Oscars have won the top program Emmy in variety since 1991, when it won in a predecessor category, outstanding variety, music or comedy program. Before that, the Oscars won the top program award in 1979 and 1988.
In winning outstanding variety special (live), The Oscars prevailed over The Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show Starring Usher, The Greatest Roast of All Time: Tom Brady and the latest editions of the Grammys and the Tonys.
Raj Kapoor, Molly McNearney and Katy Mullan served as executive producers of the Oscars. Jimmy Kimmel hosted for the fourth time.
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The Creative Arts Emmys are being presented over two consecutive nights at the Peacock Theater at LA Live in in downtown Los Angeles. The first ceremony on Saturday (Sept. 7) focused on unscripted and documentary programs. Sunday’s ceremony will focus on scripted programs.
Rickey Minor won outstanding music direction for his work on the Oscars. It’s his third win in the category, following wins for Taking the Stage: African American Music and Stories That Changed America (2017) and the Kennedy Center Honors (2020).This year’s win was a particular achievement because Minor was competing with himself. He was also nominated for his work on The 46th Kennedy Center Honors.
The Oscars won two other Creative Arts Emmys – outstanding direction for Hamish Hamilton and outstanding production design for a variety special. These four awards bring the total number of Emmy Awards won by the Oscars to 63. (The show was known as the Academy Awards through 2012, when the show formally changed the name to the more fan-friendly Oscars.)
Saturday Night Live was the big winner on night one of the Creative Arts Emmys with six wins. This brings the show’s tally of Primetime Emmy wins to 97, the record for a series. The show is set to launch its 50th season this fall.
The show’s wins were all in technical craft categories – directing; lighting design/lighting direction; technical direction and camerawork; production design; hairstyling; and makeup.
Blue Eye Samurai, Jim Henson Idea Man and The Oscars each won four awards on Saturday. Billy Joel – The 100th Live at Madison Square Garden and Welcome to Wrexham each won three. Girls State and Love on the Spectrum each won two.
The Billy Joel special won three technical awards – sound mixing; lighting design/lighting direction; and technical direction and camerawork. But it lost the top award in its field, outstanding variety special (pre-recorded) to Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic. This is the second year in a row that award went to a show celebrating a TV legend in his or her 90s. Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love won last year.
As the executive producer/performer of the MSG special, Joel would have won his first Primetime Emmy if the program had won. He has won five Grammys and a Tony.
Jim Henson: Idea Man, a Disney + program about the genius creator of the Muppets, won outstanding documentary or non-fiction special, where it beat The Greatest Night in Pop, about the recording session that produced “We Are the World,” as well as separate docs about comedians Steve Martin and Albert Brooks and the Girl’s State event.
David Fleming won outstanding music composition for a documentary series or special (original dramatic score) for his work on Jim Henson Idea Man. It’s his first Primetime Emmy. The show’s other awards were outstanding sound editing for a non-fiction or reality program and outstanding picture editing for a nonfiction program.
Henson, who died in 1990 at age 53, won five Grammys and three Primetime Emmys. In addition, he was inducted into the TV Academy Hall of Fame in 1987.
The Beach Boys on Disney + won for outstanding sound mixing for a nonfiction program.
The Voice won outstanding picture editing for a structured reality or competition program.
Maya Rudolph won outstanding character voice-over performance for her role as Connie the Hormone Monstress on Netflix’s Big Mouth. This is her sixth Primetime Emmy; her fourth in this category. Rudolph’s mother, the late Minnie Riperton, topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1975 with “Lovin’ You” and received two Grammy nominations.
Alan Cumming, host of The Traitors, won outstanding host for a reality/competition program, beating Ru Paul Charles, host of RuPaul’s Drag Race, who had won the last eight years running. Cumming won a Tony for best actor in a musical in 1998 for his role as the Emcee in a reboot of Cabaret. He picked up a second Tony in 2022 as one of platoon of producers of A Strange Loop.
Jeopardy! won outstanding game show for the second year in a row, but Ken Jennings, the show’s host (and contestant with the longest winning streak), lost outstanding game show host to Pat Sajak, who recently concluded a 40-year run as the host of that show.
Shark Tank won outstanding structured reality show for the fifth total time. It beat Queer Eye, which had won the last six years in a row. These two shows are the top winners in the history of the category.
An edited presentation of the awards from both nights of the Creative Arts Emmys will air Saturday, Sept. 14, at 8:00 p.m. PT on FXX. Subsequently, the program will be available for streaming on Hulu from Sunday, Sept. 15 through Wednesday, Oct. 9.
The 76th Emmy Awards will be broadcast live from the Peacock Theatre on Sunday, Sept. 15, from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET/5 p.m. to 8 p.m. PT on ABC. The broadcast will be available for streaming the next day on Hulu.
Benj Pasek and Justin Paul are nominated for a Primetime Emmy for outstanding music and lyrics for a song they co-wrote for Only Murders in the Building. If they win on Sept. 8, the second night of the Creative Arts Emmys, they will become the 20th and 21st individuals to EGOT – to win at least one Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony in competition.
Moreover, Pasek and Paul would be the second pair to achieve the EGOT as a team. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice won each of the four awards as a team – a Tony for best original score for Evita, a Grammy for best cast show album for Evita, an Oscar for best original song for “You Must Love Me” from Evita and an Emmy for outstanding variety special (live) for Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert.
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In addition, Pasek, who will be 39 years and three months old on Emmy night, would become the second-youngest EGOT winner ever, trailing only Robert Lopez, who 39 and one week old when he achieved the feat in March 2014. Paul, who will be 39 years, eight months and five days old that night, would become the third-youngest EGOT ever. John Legend, who was 39 years, eight months and 12 days old when he achieved the feat in September 2018, would fall from his current runner-up status to fourth place.
Pasek would be the fourth individual who is publicly LGBTQ to achieve the EGOT, following actor Sir John Gielgud (1991), producer Scott Rudin (2012) and Sir Elton John (2024).
Pasek and Paul won their first EGOT-qualifying award, an Oscar for best original song, in February 2017 for co-writing “City of Stars” from La La Land with composer Justin Hurwitz. They won a Tony for best original score that June for Dear Evan Hansen and won a second Tony in June 2022 for being among the platoon of producers of A Strange Loop, which was voted best musical. They won their first Grammy, best musical theater album, in January 2018 for Dear Evan Hansen and their second, best compilation soundtrack for visual media, in February 2019 for The Greatest Showman.
They are nominated for a Primetime Emmy for co-writing the song “Which of the Pickwick Triplets Did It?” for Only Murders in the Building with another songwriting team, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. Series star Steve Martin, who is nominated for a Primetime Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series, performed the tongue-twisting song.
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But Pasek and Paul haven’t won the award yet. The competition is strong. Eli Brueggemann, who won in this category six years ago for co-writing “Come Back Barack” for Saturday Night Live, is nominated again this year for another SNL song, “Maya Rudolph Mother’s Day Monologue,” which he co-wrote with Rudolph, Mike DiCenzo, Jake Nordwind and Auguste White.
Other nominees in the category are Sara Bareilles for writing “The Medium Time” from Girls5eva; John Hawkes, for writing “No Use” from True Detective: Night Country; and Walter Afanasieff, Kara Talve, Hans Zimmer and Charlie Midnight for cowriting “Love Will Survive” from The Tattooist of Auschwitz. Barbra Streisand recorded the latter song. She also recorded “Ordinary Miracles” from Barbra Streisand: The Concert, a Marvin Hamlisch/Alan & Marilyn Bergman song which won in the category 29 years ago.
This is the second Primetime Emmy nod for Pasek and Paul. They were nominated in the same category six years ago for writing a song from A Christmas Story Live!
Sir Elton John was the most recent person to complete the EGOT. He did so when he won a Primetime Emmy for Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium at the ceremony in January (which was delayed for four months by union strikes).
If Pasek and Paul achieve the feat, this would be the fourth time that two or more people became EGOTs in the same calendar year. Helen Hayes and Rita Moreno both became EGOTs in 1977. Mel Brooks and Mike Nichols both scored in 2001. Webber, Rice and Legend all completed their EGOT journeys in 2018.
Here’s a look at this year’s Primetime Emmy nominations in all seven music categories.
Saturday Night Live has no fewer than eight songs in contention for outstanding original music & lyrics at this year’s Primetime Emmy Creative Arts Awards. The roster includes Maya Rudolph’s “Mothers Day Monologue,” in which she sings a “Vogue”-inspired song that pays tribute to the women of SNL as she strides through Studio 8H, and “Dune Popcorn Bucket,” in which the show that gave us “Dick in a Box” tries to top itself.
Four of the videos accompanying these songs feature major recording stars. Chris Stapleton shows personality and an unexpected flair for comedy in “Get That Boy Back.” Travis Scott is featured in “We Got Too High,” in which three kids are try in vain to keep up with the rap star’s marijuana use. Billie Eilish has some silly fun in “Tampon Farm.” Dave Grohl has a cameo as a minister at the end of “Lake Beach.”
These catchy and satirical songs are overseen by SNL’s music director Eli Brueggemann (who won in this category in 2018 for co-writing “Come Back Barack”) and music producer Jake Procanik.
Three SNL songs have won in this category over the years – “Dick in a Box,” the 2007 song from a Justin Timberlake-hosted episode that somehow managed to be both audacious and kinda sweet at the same time; “Justin Timberlake Monologue” (2011), in which JT sings a song about how he absolutely won’t sing that night; and “Come Back Barack,” a Boyz II Men-style ballad from a Chance the Rapper-hosted episode about how people in the Donald Trump years missed his more even-keeled predecessor.
SNL is currently tied with the annual Tony Awards telecast for having the most winners in this category. Three songs from the Tonys, all performed by host Neil Patrick Harris, won the award in 2012-14 – “It’s Not Just for Gays Anymore,” a sensational opening number from the 2011 show; “If I Had Time,” a very clever closing number from the 2012 show; and “Bigger!,” from the 2013 show, quite possibly the biggest opening number on any awards show ever. Who said less is more?
The outstanding original music & lyrics category originated in 1970. Notable winners over the years have included EGOT recipients Marvin Hamlisch and Robert Lopez; Broadway powerhouses Kander & Ebb and Lin-Manuel Miranda; Hot 100 chart-toppers Timberlake, Melanie, Walter Murphy, David Paich (Toto) and Ed Sheeran; and TV stars Seth MacFarlane, Sarah Silverman, Seth Meyers and Kenan Thompson.
Nominations for the 76th annual Primetime Emmy Awards will be announced on July 17. The 2024 Creative Arts Emmys will be held on Sept. 7-8 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The primetime Emmy telecast will be held on Sept. 15 at the same venue.
Here you can watch the eight SNL songs that are in contention for this year’s Primetime Emmy for outstanding original music & lyrics.
“Lake Beach”
Lizzo did not take home any hardware during Sunday’s (Jan. 7) second night of the 2023 Primetime Emmy Creative Arts Awards. But in a classic “just happy to be nominated” post the “About Damn Time” singer said that she was still tipping up in celebration of the honor. “NAH IMA TALK MY S–T… OUT OF […]
Ed Sheeran wasn’t expecting to win an Emmy at the 2023 Primetime Emmy Creative Arts Awards. Along with Max Martin and Foy Vance, Sheeran took home the award for outstanding original music and lyrics for “A Beautiful Game,” which they wrote for an episode of Ted Lasso. Night one of the 2023 Primetime Emmys took place Saturday night […]
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story won outstanding television movie on Saturday (Jan. 6), night one of the long-delayed 2023 Primetime Emmy Creative Arts Awards. The Emmys were originally set for September, but were postponed because of strikes by Hollywood writers and actors.
In taking the award for outstanding television movie, the final award of the night, Weird beat Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas, Hocus Pocus 2 (reuniting Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy), Fire Island and Prey. Parton won in the category two years ago with Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square.
As a producer of Weird, Weird Al Yankovic won his first Primetime Emmy. Weird won an additional award for outstanding music composition for a limited or anthology series, movie or special (original dramatic score) but that award went to the composers, Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson.
Pop music titans Ed Sheeran and Max Martin, along with Foy Vance, won their first Primetime Emmys. They took the award for outstanding original music and lyrics for “A Beautiful Game,” which they wrote for an episode of Ted Lasso.
Danny Elfman won outstanding original main title theme music for Wednesday. It’s his third Primetime Emmy, following awards for Desperate Housewives (2005) and Danny Elfman’s Music from the Films of Tim Burton (Live From Lincoln Center) (2016).
Cristobal Tapia de Veer won outstanding music composition for a series (original dramatic score) for his work on The White Lotus. It’s the Chilean-born Canadian composer’s third Primetime Emmy in the past two years for his work on that buzzy show.
Winners in five of the seven music categories were announced on night one of the Creative Arts Awards, which took place at the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live in Los Angeles. Winners in the other two music categories will be announced on night two of the Creative Arts Awards on Sunday (Jan 7). The main Primetime Emmy telecast will air on Monday, Jan. 15, at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on FOX – nearly four months after the originally planned date (Sept. 18).
The Last of Us was the top winner on night one of the Creative Arts Emmys, with eight awards, followed by The Bear, Wednesday and The White Lotus, with four wins each. BEEF was next with three awards, followed by Daisy Jones & The Six, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Ted Lasso and Weird: The Al Yankovic Story with two each.
An edited presentation of the awards presented on both nights of the Creative Arts Emmys will air Saturday, Jan. 13 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on FXX and will be available for streaming on Hulu on Sunday, Jan. 14.
Here’s a complete list of nominees in music categories from night one of the Creative Arts Awards, with winners marked. This post will be updated following night two.
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
WINNER: 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
WINNER: 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
WINNER: 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
WINNER: Weird: The Al Yankovic Story; The Roku Channel; The Roku Channel, Funny or Die, Tango Entertainment; Leo Birenberg, Composer; Zach Robinson, 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
WINNER: Wednesday; Netflix; A Netflix Series / An MGM Television Production; Danny Elfman, Composer
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