The definitive ranking of the Golden Globes’ nominees for Best Song in a Movie

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The Golden Globes have revealed the six songs in the running for their movie award this year. While the nominations aren’t full of shocking picks, a couple of them are sure to please music lovers.

All the expected candidates received nominations, but some strong contenders were overlooked. The most surprising omission was Shakira’s energetic dance track, “Zoo,” from Zootopia 2. A well-made rock song by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, “As Alive as You Need Me to Be,” also deserved consideration, as did Ed Sheeran’s song “Drive.” Overall, rock music seemed to be largely ignored by the nominators this year.

Two hit musicals provided half of the nominations, with the remaining nominations spread across pop, folk, and blues songs. Here’s one critic’s ranking of the nominated songs, and their pick for who will win.

Ranking the Golden Globe-nominated songs of 2025

6. “Dream As One” from Avatar: Fire and Ash

I did swap out a couple of nominees with my personal preferences, but overall, I’m fine with the choices. Except for one song in particular. It’s a collaboration between Miley Cyrus, Marc Ronson, and Andrew Wyatt—a lot of talent, but the result is underwhelming. It’s strangely both too much and too boring at the same time, which is… something, I guess.

5. “The Girl in the Bubble” from Wicked: For Good

The sequel to Wicked included two well-received songs, each performed by one of the main actresses. Ariana Grande’s song, a ballad about the challenges of being a good witch, written by the experienced Stephen Schwartz, is stronger than the other song in the film. However, I wasn’t impressed with the overall production or Grande’s emotional performance of it.

4. “No Place Like Home” from Wicked: For Good

Cynthia Erivo performs a song also written by Schwartz, though it isn’t quite as strong as some of the others. The first half feels like an introduction, but Erivo delivers a fantastic performance, and the simple staging lets her talent truly stand out. However, this production doesn’t have a show-stopping anthem like “Defying Gravity” from the original Wicked.

3. “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters

I’m honestly not surprised everyone’s predicting this year’s breakout song to win! It’s totally deserving. While the song isn’t groundbreakingly original, it’s a really well-made K-pop track, and it had a tough job to do within the movie. It needed to feel like a genuine hit song, and that’s way harder to fake than you’d think. It was actually created by a team of writers and producers and performed by the movie’s fictional band, Huntrix, which is pretty cool!

The song was a huge hit, helping the album reach the top of the charts. I was especially pleased it wasn’t part of a movie with a colon in the title – that usually means it’s a remake, and this felt like something fresh and new.

2. “Train Dreams” from Train Dreams

Good news for Nick Cave fans! At 68, he’s finally receiving Golden Globe recognition. While the famously unconventional musician—who’s explored many musical styles over his career—might not care much about awards, this collaboration with guitarist and composer Bryce Dessner is a beautiful, haunting piece that feels both atmospheric and like a movie soundtrack.

This song plays during the end credits of Clint Bentley’s acclaimed film and perfectly reflects its overall feeling.

1. “I Lied to You” from Sinners

Okay, so out of all the movies with songs nominated, this one really grabbed me. I’m a total sucker for that raw, acoustic blues sound, and this movie delivered. Miles Caton, who’s a singer and actor with a big role in Sinners, has this song that’s just… incredible. It’s got this really cool, slow groove, and it’s both spooky and beautiful, but also feels really real and honest. Honestly, pairing blues music with a horror movie? Genius. It just works so well.

While “I Lied to You” could be a contender, I believe KPop is likely to win this year. If not, a song from Wicked has a strong chance. Personally, I would have removed the Avatar song and included Myke Towers’ “Baja California” from F1 instead. It’s much more energetic than the rather slow “Dream As One,” which feels sluggish even at over three minutes long.

The Golden Globe winners will be announced on January 11, 2026.

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2025-12-09 22:00