'Golden' makes history, wins Oscar for Best Original Song
16 Mar 2026

The South Korean sensation Golden from K-Pop Demon Hunters has made history by winning the Academy Award for Best Original Song. This victory makes it the first K-pop song to achieve this feat.

Ejae, Ido, and Teddy Park also became the first South Koreans to win in this segment. EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami also performed the track before the award announcement.

This came after the film won Best Animated Feature earlier in the night.

'Golden' beat out stiff competition
Competition

Golden beat out stiff competition from Sinners, Train Dreams, Viva Verdi!, and Diane Warren: Relentless.

Maggie Kang, the film's co-writer and co-director, dedicated the award to Koreans everywhere.

She said, as per The Guardian, "For those of you who look like me, I'm so sorry that it took so long to see us in a movie like this, but it is here."

Diane Warren loses again
Record

The win was a major blow for veteran songwriter Diane Warren. At 69, she has been nominated for an Oscar 17 times but has yet to win. Her latest nomination was for Dear Me, performed by Kesha and featuring in Diane Warren: Relentless.

Despite her losses, Warren remains a respected figure in the music industry with hits like Aerosmith's I Don't Want to Miss a Thing and Lady Gaga's Til It Happens to You under her belt.