Hollywood Music in Media Awards Nominations: 'The Odyssey' Leads, Oscars Watch Begins

Five films — The Odyssey, Behemoth!, Michael, Brother Verses Brother, and Linda Perry: Let It Die Here — lead the 2026 Hollywood Music in Media Awards with three nominations each, in nominations announced Monday that instantly reshape the music races ahead of Oscar season.

The HMMA (the industry's awards for music in film, TV, games and ads) has earned its reputation as an Oscar bellwether, the strongest early signal in the score and song categories. Last year, the Sinners score and "Golden" from KPop Demon Hunters both won HMMAs before going on to win Academy Awards, and all five Oscar nominees for Best Original Score were HMMA nominees. Winners will be announced Nov. 18 at Avalon Hollywood.

Who leads the individual races?

Composers Daniel Pemberton and Mina Samy top the individual field with four nominations each. Pemberton is nominated for Project Hail Mary, The Drama, Slow Horses, and "Let Me Sell You a Dream," the Musk song he wrote with David Byrne. Samy is nominated for Ezma, the short film "Stopped," and twice for the series The Death Ward.

Ludwig Göransson, who won his third Oscar for Sinners in March, has three nominations for The Odyssey: the score, the song "When I'm Home," and its music video. One wrinkle: Christopher Nolan is one of the song's credited writers at the HMMA, but he won't be submitted for it at the Oscars, as Gold Derby previously reported. That credit gap could matter if the song advances.

The named-headliner list runs deep. Taylor Swift and Jack Antonoff are nominated for "I Knew It, I Knew You" from Toy Story 5. Diane Warren is nominated for "One Right Here" from Maserati: The Brothers, performed by Andrea Bocelli and Jennifer Hudson. Jesse Eisenberg is nominated for writing "This City May Have Chewed Me Up (But It Hasn't Spit Me Out)" for The Debut, while Julianne Moore earned her own bid for singing it on screen. Guitarricadelafuente's "La Nieve" from La Bola Negra is also nominated.

What does the feature song category look like?

The Song — Feature Film lineup:

• "Draw You Out" from The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping — Noah Kahan and Aaron Dessner; performed by Noah Kahan
• "House Featuring John Cale" from Wuthering Heights — written by Charlotte Aitchison, John Cale, Finn Keane, and Nathan Klein; performed by Charli xcx
• "Light Over the Hill" from Reminders of Him — Noah Cyrus, Justin Franks, and PJ Harding; performed by Noah Cyrus
• "One Right Here" from Maserati: The Brothers — Diane Warren
• "When I'm Home" from The Odyssey — James Blake, Travis Scott, Ludwig Göransson, and Christopher Nolan
• "Your God Is Sleeping" from Behemoth! — Lukas Frank

Other song categories bring more star wattage. Ed Sheeran wrote "Bottle Up" from Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie, performed by the Backstreet Boys. Phoebe Bridgers and Antonoff wrote "On Video" from Primetime. Beck wrote and performed "Hollywood Man" from Billy Knight. Kylie Minogue and Chris Martin co-wrote "Light Up" from Kylie, and Miley Cyrus performs "Younger You" from the Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special.

How do the score categories stack up?

The Score — Feature Film field pits Göransson's The Odyssey against Damon Albarn (Artificial), the Behemoth! Collective, Jared Michael Fry (Heart of the Beast), Rebekka Karijord (Tenzing), Carter Burwell (Wild Horse Nine), and Son Lux (Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother).

The Sci-Fi/Fantasy lineup is the marquee battle: John Williams (Disclosure Day) against Hans Zimmer (Dune: Part Three), Michael Abels (Hope), Pemberton (Project Hail Mary), Michael Giacchino (Spider-Man: Brand New Day), James Newton Howard (The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping), and Joseph Trapanese (Whalefall).

Onscreen performance nods include Jaafar Jackson singing "Bad" from Michael and Nick Jonas with "How to Write a Song Without You" from Power Ballad. On the TV side, Bryan Cranston is nominated for "Locked Out of Heaven" from the Malcolm in the Middle revival, and Sabrina Carpenter and the Muppets landed a bid for "Manchild" from The Muppet Show.

Lana Del Rey also appears, co-writing and performing "First Light" from the video game 007 First Light with David Arnold. The full slate spans more than 30 categories, from music supervision to theme-park projects, with the Nov. 18 ceremony at Avalon Hollywood as the next checkpoint before Oscar voting begins.