Diane Warren Reacts to Record 16th Oscar Nomination Without a Win: 'It's Like the Losing Team That's Getting Sent Back'

Diane Warren
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Diane Warren is breaking records at the Oscars -- but without ever getting a win.

The legendary singer and songwriter was nominated again at the 2025 ceremony for the song "The Journey" from Tyler Perry's The Six Triple Eight. Warren now lands her 16th Oscar nomination in the Best Original Song category. She has actually been nominated every year since 2017.

But Warren has not won in the competitive field ever. Now, she has extended her record as the songwriter with the most nominations in the category without a win. She did win one Oscar, a non-competitive category, when she received an honorary Oscar in 2022. She would go on to lose the competitive category for Best Original Song that year.

After the nominations were revealed for the 2025 ceremony on Jan. 23, Warren spoke with the Associated Press about being nominated again and not having won yet.

"The fact that I get another shot, you know, is awesome. I love it. It's like the losing team that's getting sent back," Warren joked. "I don't know anything about sports and stuff, but I guess (it's) like a Super Bowl, like a team that, you know, loses for decades. People root for them."

During the interview, Warren did mention her honorary Oscar and shared that he gets "very lonely."

Warren continued to speak about her record 16th nomination.

"I never did have a sweet 16. I was 16 but probably I wasn't sweet," she added.

As or how she feels about being nominated across five distinct decades, Warren joked that she was too young to have that happen.

"Since I'm only 39, how did that happen?" Warren, 68, cracked.

Some notable songs that Warren has penned for movies include "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" from Armageddon, "There You'll Be" from Pearl Harbor, "How Do I Live" from Con Air and "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" from Mannequin.

Warren faces steep competition again this year with her category's other nominees: "Never Too Late," Elton John: Never Too Late (Elton John & Brandi Carlile), "El Mal," Emilia Pérez (Clement Ducol, Camille & Jacques Audiard), "Mi Camino," Emilia Pérez (Clement Ducol & Camille) and "Like a Bird," Sing Sing (Adrian Quesada & Abraham Alexander).

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Diane Warren, Oscars
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