The 2026 Academy Award nominations had been introduced right now, and with them, the contenders for Finest Unique Tune. This 12 months’s nominees are Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner’s “Practice Desires” (from the movie of the identical identify), Huntr/x’s “Golden” (KPop Demon Hunters), Raphael Saadiq and Ludwig Göransson’s “I Lied to You” (Sinners), Dianne Warren’s “Expensive Me” (Dianne Warren: Relentless), and Nicholas Pike’s “Candy Desires of Pleasure” (Viva Verdi!). A winner can be named on the awards ceremony on Sunday, March 15, hosted by Conan O’Brien on the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Göransson was the one artist to be nominated for each Finest Unique Tune and Best Original Score this 12 months. Again in December, the Academy shared a shortlist of songs within the operating for a nomination. Amongst people who didn’t make the ultimate reduce had been 9 Inch Nails’ “As Alive as You Want Me to Be” (Tron: Ares), Aiyana-Lee’s “Highest 2 Lowest,” Miley Cyrus’ “Dream as One” (Avatar: Hearth and Ash), John Mayer, Ed Sheeran, and Blake Slatkin’s “Drive” (F1), and two songs from Depraved: For Good. In 2025, the award went to Clément Ducol, Camille, and Jacques Audiard for “El Mal,” from Audiard’s musical drama Emilia Perez.
Follow all of Pitchfork’s coverage of the 2026 Academy Awards.
Finest Unique Tune
Huntr/x, Ejae, Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami: “Golden” (KPop Demon Hunters)
Diane Warren: “Expensive Me” (Diane Warren: Relentless)
Raphael Saadiq, Ludwig Göransson: “I Lied to You” (Sinners)
Nick Cave, Bryce Dessner: “Practice Desires” (Practice Desires)
Nicholas Pike: “Candy Desires of Pleasure” (Viva Verdi!)
CORRECTION: An earlier model of this story incorrectly listed “Salt Then Bitter Then Candy” from Come See Me within the Good Mild among the many ultimate nominees.
