Society of Composers & Lyricists Awards

Billie Eilish and Finneas and composer Ludwig Göransson moved one step closer to winning Oscars by winning at the fifth annual SCL Awards, which were held at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles on Tuesday night (Feb. 13). Eilish & Finneas won outstanding original song for a comedy or musical for “What Was I Made For?,” which they co-wrote for Barbie. Göransson won outstanding original score for a studio film for Oppenheimer. These are widely regarded as the front-runners to win the Oscars for best original song and best original score, respectively, on March 10.

Siedah Garrett hosted the SCL Awards, which are presented by The Society of Composers and Lyricists.

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Director Martin Scorsese accepted the Spirit of Collaboration Award for his work with the late composer Robbie Robertson. Jason Isbell performed “Between Trains,” which Robertson wrote for Scorsese’s 1983 film The King of Comedy, to honor the pair.

The Spirit of Collaboration Award recognizes a composer/director relationship which has created a prodigious body of work. Robertson and Scorsese’s collaborations over nearly 50 years included The Last Waltz, Raging Bull, Shutter Island, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Irishman and last year’s Killers of the Flower Moon, for which Robertson is nominated for an Oscar posthumously. The composer died in August at age 80.

Past recipients of the Spirit of Collaboration Award are Thomas Newman & Sam Mendes, Terence Blanchard & Spike Lee, Carter Burwell & the Coen Brothers, and Justin Hurwitz & Damien Chazelle.

Olivia Rodrigo and Dan Nigro won outstanding original song for a drama or documentary for “Can’t Catch Me Now” from The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. That song was shortlisted for an Oscar for best original song, but it didn’t land a nomination.

Garrett is a Grammy-winning, two-time Oscar-nominated songwriter and a member of the SCL. She recently reunited with Quincy Jones on the 2023 musical version of The Color Purple.  She had collaborated with Jones on Michael Jackson’s 1987 album Bad — co-writing “Man in the Mirror” and singing background vocals on “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You.” Both songs were No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100.

The Society of Composers and Lyricists, which claims nearly 4,000 members, is a leading organization for professional film, television, video game and musical theater composers and songwriters.

Here are the nominees for the 2024 SCL Awards, with winners marked:

Outstanding original score for a studio film

Anthony Willis, Saltburn

Joe Hisaishi, The Boy and the Heron

WINNER: Ludwig Göransson, Oppenheimer

Laura Karpman, American Fiction

Robbie Robertson, Killers of the Flower Moon

Outstanding original score for an independent film

Jon Batiste, American Symphony

WINNER: John Powell, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie

Daniel Pemberton, Ferrari

Mica Levi, The Zone of Interest

Fabrizio Mancinelli/Richard M. Sherman, Mushka

Outstanding original song for a comedy or musical

WINNER: Billie Eilish O’Connell/Finneas O’Connell, “What Was I Made For?,” Barbie

Mark Ronson/Andrew Wyatt, “I’m Just Ken,” Barbie

Diane Warren, “The Fire Inside,” Flamin’ Hot

Heather McIntosh/Allyson Newman/Taura Stinson, “All About Me,” The L Word: Generation Q

Jack Black/John Spiker/Eric Osmond/Michael Jelenic/Aaron Horvath, “Peaches,” Super Mario Bros. Movie

Outstanding original song for a drama or documentary

WINNER: Olivia Rodrigo/Dan Nigro, “Can’t Catch Me Now,” The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

Jon Batiste/Dan Wilson, “It Never Went Away,” American Symphony

Lenny Kravitz, “Road to Freedom,” Rustin

Nicholas Britell/Taura Stinson, “Slip Away,” Carmen

Sharon Farber/Noah Benshea, “Better Times,” Jacob the Baker

Outstanding original score for a television production

WINNER: Nicholas Britell, Succession

Natalie Holt, Loki

Martin Phipps, The Crown

Carlos Rafael Rivera, Lessons in Chemistry

Gustavo Santaolalla, The Last of Us

Outstanding original title sequence for a television production

WINNER: Carlos Rafael Rivera, Lessons in Chemistry

Atli Örvarsson, Silo

Nainita Desai, The Deepest Breath

Kevin Kiner, Ahsoka

Chanda Dancy, Lawmen: Bass Reeves

Outstanding original score for interactive media

Austin Wintory, Stray Gods

Pinar Toprak, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora

WINNER: Stephen Barton/Gordy Haab, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

Winifred Phillips, Secrets of Skeifa Island

David Raksin award for emerging talent

Kenny Wood, The Naughty Nine

Hannah Parrott, After Death

Fabrizio Mancinelli, The Land of Dreams

WINNER: Catherine Joy, Home Is a Hotel

Allyson Newman, Commitment to Life