Kris Bowers, Atticus Ross and Diane Warren were among the victors at the Society of Composers and Lyricists Awards, which took place in Los Angeles on Wednesday night. Singer-songwriter Colin Hay (of Men at Work fame) hosted.
Bowers won best original score for a studio film for “The Wild Robot,” which has been cleaning up at other awards ceremonies of late, and Daniel Blumberg won original score for an indie for “The Brutalist.” (Both are also nominated for the Best Score Oscar.) In TV, Ross took home best original score for a TV series for FX’s “Shōgun” alongside collaborators Leopold Ross and Nick Chuba.
Ross picked up another victory in the song categories, winning Outstanding Original Song for a Comedy or Musical Visual Media Presentation for “Compress/Repress” from “Challengers,” which he shared with his longtime collaborator Trent Reznor and the film’s director, Luca Guadagnino. Three-time SCL Award winner Warren triumphed in Outstanding Original Song for a Dramatic or Documentary Visual Media Production (rolls off the tongue!) for her track “The Journey” from “The Six Triple Eight,” which is also nominated for an original song Oscar.
The SCL Awards celebrate composers and songwriters working in film, television, video games and musical theater, and are voted on by members of the organization. As a gauge to who might win in the Academy Award music categories, the SCL Awards’ short, six-year history can only say so much. In the first five years, one of its two score winners went on to win the Oscar three times. And in the four previous years that SCL has given out song awards, one of its winners has won the Oscar only twice. (Both times it was Billie Eilish and Finneas, who won SCL Awards and Oscars for their Bond theme “No Time to Die” and “What Was I Made For” from “Barbie.”)
Other winners at the 2025 SCL Awards included Jeff Toyne (original title sequence for the Apple TV+ series “Palme Royale”) and “Inside Out 2” composer Andrea Datzman (the David Raksin Award for Emerging Talent). Other special awards went to Jeff Beal, Harry Gregson-Williams and Ridley Scott.
Below, the complete list of winners.
Outstanding Original Score for a Studio Film
Clement Ducol, Camille – ‘EMILIA PEREZ’ (Netflix)
Hans Zimmer – ‘DUNE: PART TWO’ (Warner Bros. Pictures / Legendary Pictures)
Harry Gregson-Williams – ‘GLADIATOR II’ (Paramount Pictures)
John Powell, Stephen Schwartz – ‘WICKED: PART 1’ (Universal Pictures)
Kris Bowers – ‘THE WILD ROBOT’ (DreamWorks Animation) **WINNER
Volker Bertelmann – ‘CONCLAVE’ (Focus Features)
Outstanding Original Score for an Independent Film
Chris Bacon – ‘HERETIC’ (A24)
Daniel Blumberg – ‘THE BRUTALIST’ (A24) **WINNER
Dara Taylor – ‘MEET ME NEXT CHRISTMAS’ (Roberts Media)
Fabrizio Mancinelli – ‘HERE AFTER’ (Artina Films, ClaRo Productions, Fenix Entertainment, Hopscotch Pictures)
Heather McIntosh – ‘WINNER’ (Big Beach, One Community, Scythia Films, ShivHans Pictures)
Stephanie Economou – ‘THE BOOK OF JOBS’ (Bull’s Eye Entertainment, Rebellium Films)
Outstanding Original Song for a Dramatic or Documentary Visual Media Production
Andrew Wyatt, Lykke Li, Miley Cyrus – “Beautiful That Way” (from ‘THE LAST SHOWGIRL’) (Utopia Media, High Frequency Entertainment, Pinky Promise, Detour, Digital Ignition Entertainment)
Bear McCreary – “Old Tom Bombadil” (from ‘THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER’) (Amazon MGM Studios in association with New Line Cinema / Prime Video)
Christopher Lennertz – “Let’s Put The Christ Back In Christmas” (from ‘THE BOYS’) (Prime Video)
Diane Warren – “The Journey” (from ‘THE SIX TRIPLE EIGHT’) (Netflix) **WINNER
Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Bernie Taupin, Andrew Watt – “Never Too Late” (from ‘ELTON JOHN: NEVER TOO LATE’) (Disney Branded Television, This Machine Filmworks, Rocket Entertainment)
Nicholas Britell, Steve McQueen, Taura Stinson – “Winter Coat” (from ‘BLITZ’) (Apple Original Films)
Outstanding Original Song for a Comedy or Musical Visual Media Production
Abigail Barlow, Emily Bear – “Beyond” (from ‘MOANA 2’) (Disney)
Clement Ducol, Camille – “Mi Camino” (from ‘EMILIA PEREZ’) (Why Not Productions, Page 114, Pathé, France 2 Cinéma, Saint Laurent Productions)
Clement Ducol, Camille, Jacques Audiard – “El Mal” (from ‘EMILIA PEREZ’) (Why Not Productions, Page 114, Pathé, France 2 Cinéma, Saint Laurent Productions)
Lainey Wilson, Luke Dick, Shane McAnally – “Out of Oklahoma” (from ‘TWISTERS’) (Universal Pictures)
Robbie Williams, Freddy Wexler, Sacha Skarbek – “Forbidden Road” (from ‘BETTER MAN’) (Paramount Pictures)
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross & Luca Guadagnino – “Compress/Repress” (from ‘CHALLENGERS’) (Amazon MGM Studios) **WINNER
Outstanding Original Title Sequence for a Television Production
Atticus Ross, Leopold Ross, Nick Chuba – ‘SHŌGUN’ (FX Network)
Blake Neely – ‘MASTERS OF THE AIR’ (Apple TV+)
Carlos Rafael Rivera – ‘GRISELDA’ (Netflix)
Danielle Ponder – ‘MANHUNT’ (Apple TV+)
Jeff Toyne – ‘PALM ROYALE’ (Apple TV+) **WINNER
Nami Melumad – ‘DREAM PRODUCTIONS’ (Pixar Animation Studios / Disney+)
Outstanding Original Score for a Television Production
Atticus Ross, Leopold Ross, Nick Chuba – ‘SHŌGUN’ (FX Network) **WINNER
Bear McCreary – ‘THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER’ (Amazon MGM Studios in association with New Line Cinema / Prime Video)
Blake Neely – ‘MASTERS OF THE AIR’ (Apple TV+)
David Fleming – ‘MR AND MRS SMITH’ (Amazon MGM Studios)
Finneas O’Connell – ‘DISCLAIMER’ (Apple TV+)
Jeff Toyne – ‘PALM ROYALE’ (Apple TV+)
Outstanding Original Score for Interactive Media
Gordy Haab – ‘INDIANA JONES AND THE GREAT CIRCLE’ (Machine Games, Bethesda Studios, Lucasfilm Games)
Nainita Desai – ‘TALES OF KENZERA: ZAU’ (Surgent Studios, EA)
Wilbert Roget, II – ‘STAR WARS: OUTLAWS’ (Massive Entertainment, Ubisoft)
Winifred Phillips – ‘WIZARDRY: PROVING GROUNDS OF THE MAD OVERLORD’ (Digital Eclipse) **WINNER
David Raksin Award for Emerging Talent
Andrea Datzman – ‘INSIDE OUT 2’ (Disney/Pixar Animation Studios) **WINNER
Emily Rice – ‘BROKEN BIRD’ (Catalyst Studios, Mitchell-Brunt Films)
Katya Richardson – ‘MOTORCYCLE MARY’ (Breakwater Studios)
Nikhil Koparkar – ‘DEAD WHISPER’ (Howlin’ Hounds Pictures, Brothers Gran Productions)
Robin Carolan – ‘NOSFERATU’ (Focus Features)
Wei-San Hsu – ‘INVISIBLE NATION’ (100 Chapters Productions, Double Hope Films, Seine Pictures)
