2026 Critics Choice Award Best Song Nominations

By Eva Sawdey

The 2026 Critics Choice Award was held on January 4th, with many worthy contenders for the Best Song category. As the original songs appear in a range of movie genres– horror, sports, animation, musical, thriller, drama – each song is specially catered to create and shape the stories of these different films. 

‘Drive’ by Ed Sheeran, John Mayer, and Blake Slatkin from F1 encapsulated the racing attitude that one would expect from a Formula 1 movie. F1 follows the life of a retired driver who comes back to be a part of a team. ‘Drive’ describes the love for racing and the freeing feeling that comes with the risky profession. As a guitar and drum heavy rock song, blood pressures are elevated listening to this liberating anthem. “Speeding by with the top down.. and I don’t want to stop now” alludes to a sort of reckless, but freeing, nature that comes with the sport. A professional driver may be physically in control of the wheel, but there are factors that add levels of unpredictability to races. Conquering these challenges and staying level headed gives off the illusion of liberation and being unstoppable, which is what ‘Drive’ does. The song is very masculine, reflecting the main character and his story. Ed Sheeran has been known to create catchy pop songs, with most of them being soft and lighthearted. While, ‘Drive’ shows Sheeran’s ability to dabble in other genres, it feels impersonal and could appear in any generic car advertisement. Unlike the other nominations, ‘Drive’ is the least remarkable in trying to convey a pivotal moment in the movie. The lyrics show no progression, revealing no deeper layers that could have been addressed with F1. The song's inability to emotionally touch many people may be a reason for why the song didn’t win. 

Unlike liberation from the world, ‘Golden’ by Ejae, Mark Sonnenblick, Ido, 24, and Teddy, shines a light on how acceptance can help people realise they’re not bound by their insecurities and can free oneself. KPop Demon Hunters tells the story of a girlband, Huntrix, trying to protect people from demons with the power of their voices. While fighting their opponents, a dark secret is revealed by one of their own members that puts a toll on their relationship and their trust. Scared to admit who she really is, the lead singer owns her secret, releasing her guilt and strengthening her relationship with her friends. ‘Golden’ emphasises the movie’s lesson on how allowing yourself to be known by others and how powerful accepting yourself can be. The lyrics show this process with, “I was alone” to “I’m done hiding” to “That’s who we’re born to be.” The Critics Choice Awards best song winner illustrates the movie's purpose and helps audiences take the lesson with them whenever they hear the song. However, this song feels a bit restricted to a younger audience. The lyrics are a bit cliché and simple. The song is able to incorporate some Korean phrases, which adds some complexity, but lacks in moving wider audiences. As a whole, ‘Golden’ is a bit repetitive, and there are other nominations that I feel are better candidates for Best song.  

Sinners, set in Mississippi in the 1930s, is an excellent movie that deals with themes like repression, religion, and race. This movie achieves many tactics that help enhance the audiences experience and strategically home in on the key themes, including their song ‘I Lied to You’. The song is performed right before the plot starts to take off, providing one last piece of normalcy. The blues song begins on an apologetic note, as the singer is disappointing his father by prioritising music and his friends there rather than being a quintessential pastor's son. The lie comes out as the singer confesses, “I love the blues.” During the middle of the song, a monologue is performed explaining how people who have the power to create music can "pierce the layer between life and death,” or in other words, are able to take inspiration from the past and connect those living. This scene spins around the room to show traditional African performances (resembling past ancestors) to the present time blues club, then to rock and hiphop groups (genres that will later be created), bringing together the past, present, and future through music. The performance is beautifully catered to the movie's story. ‘I Lied to You’ is one of my favorite nominations as it starts off from a single layer and grows into a whole experience. Listeners feel surrounded by the noise, leaving them with the best feeling: how did we get here? The confusion of the ending is what makes audiences think about beyond what was presented to them, which the winner of best song should do.  

‘Clothed by the Sun’ by Daniel Blumberg in The Testament of Ann Lee is a faithful retelling of the hardship Ann Lee faced throughout her life as she started the Shaker movement. Specifically the last line of the chorus, “I’m a woman clothed by the sun” is a biblical reference that is made in the movie to Revelation 12:1. This chapter depicts a pregnant woman that is clothed by the sun, with a serpent below her, waiting to eat the baby. The movie relies on this depiction relating to Ann Lee, as she had four miscarriages herself. Additionally, the serpent could also be seen as those who disagreed with the Shaker movement, posing as a threat to Ann Lee and the danger she faced preaching. The song carries this angelic, slow sound, matching the religious aspect of the film. While slow, the voices are clear, as it’s important to understand the lyrics. A preacher of any sort is trying to effectively communicate their thoughts to others with a clear and strong voice. Amanda Seyfried, the actress that plays Ann Lee, sings the song with the same jurisdiction with the lyrics “You and I on our own elation, story has to tell.” While Blumberg does a great job with this song, I can see how it would go over some people’s heads. Tailored perfectly to the movie, ‘Clothed by the Sun’ leaves little room for enjoyers to think on their own. The vocals and the instrumentals are synonymous, both light and slow, adding little dimension to the song itself. The song is unrelatable as it’s similar to hymns, which can be difficult for larger audiences to be moved by or care about. 

“It upsets a man’s soul whether they recognise it or not.” is a quote in the movie Train Dreams, acknowledging the loss and guilt felt by those who were creating railways in rural America. ‘Train Dreams’ by Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner is a personal recollection from the eyes of the main character, Robert Grainier, and his mental journey working on the railroads. The song feels lonely with Nick Cave’s low voice and the striking high pitched piano. Most lyrics recall what the singer has seen, but he sings “I can’t begin to tell you how that feels.” relying on the music to convey the emotion. The instruments in the song create this soft, memory-like picture for the vocals to build off, acting as a narration of Grainier’s inner monologue. The song talks about dreams about a woman and a train- the two lives Grainier tries to juggle in the movie. Grainier’s commitment to railroad construction comes at the cost of missing his wife and the growing up of his child. The pain and regret can be heard in this song, as he refers to these moments with his wife as a dream. One of the last lines of the song, “This has been going on for years, years… years and years” emphasises how long Grainier has tried to grapple with the sacrifices he’s making and how long he’s also tried to put off accepting the reality of his decisions, doing a beautiful job in bringing the movie to life. This nomination should have won in my eyes. While it explains a personal story, the composition reaches a wider audience by empathising with the singer. By telling a story about the character’s pain and loss, and touching on how those emotions are undealt with, ‘Train Dreams’ provides listeners a way to identify aspects of their lives they are grateful for. To listen to this man and his regrets, people realise all the wonderful things in their life they couldn’t imagine sacrificing. The song can also be a wake up call for people who are experiencing something similar, giving them an opportunity to change. The dichotomy of the piano and the vocals is an excellent creative choice, connecting the story and the song together. 

Wicked: For Good has been a famously anticipated film that did not disappoint with ‘Girl in the Bubble’ really encapsulating the dilemma within Glinda throughout the movie. After learning that Glinda was being deceived, she lost a sense of self as her ambition and motivation was for something that never existed. Ariana Grande performs the song with so much passion and heartbreak for her character. ‘Girl in the Bubble’ brings the audience through Glinda’s point of view of how loved she felt before she learned the truth. “It’s hard to unsee what you’ve seen” shows how the admiration she once felt is meaningless because it was for the wrong reasons. However, even knowing it’s wrong, Glinda is scared of losing the love she has built her whole meaning upon, “If she… gives the real world a try, who in the world is she now?” This song is a pivotal point in the movie, where Glinda realises that “it’s time for the bubble to pop” and does what is right, knowing that things are going to change. Alone, Glinda performs this to herself. The loneliness of being in her position is brought up throughout the movie with the song finally addressing this struggle. The instruments build from quiet and single layered to a cacophony of instruments supporting the vocals as if the instruments are Glinda’s courage to do differently. ‘Girl in the Bubble’ is a wonderful addition to the storytelling of Wicked: For Good and another great contender. By addressing personal struggles and providing a point of view that’s been seen but not acknowledged was so special to witness. The way Schwartz builds the instruments alongside the lyrics was done so well, validating its nomination in this category. 

The nominations for this year’s Critics Choice Awards were beautiful in creating a world for these films. Each song addresses themes from the movies, like liberation, religion, regret, and courage, contributing to the storytelling of each of the films. Music is able to evoke emotions in the audience by guiding them through those masterfully created by the filmmakers. While these songs are meaningful in the context of the movies, the songs can be enjoyed on their own. Additionally, the songs allow people who have watched the movies to go back and reminisce on the impactful scenes, remembering the emotions that come with them. Music improves the audiences watching experience – not only by guiding them, but comforting them in feelings that cannot always be described in the moment.