Nicholas Britell Leads Nominations for Society of Composers & Lyricists Awards

Jon Burlingame
·4 min read
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Nicholas Britell has a leading three nominations from the Society of Composers & Lyricists Awards, with Tuesday’s announcement of this year’s nominees for music in visual media finding Britell in contention for both song and score for his work on Adam McKay’s satire “Don’t Look Up,” as well as a nom for TV score for “Succession.”

The SCL’s third annual awards program is slated for Feb. 1 at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.

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Women composers and songwriters had a surprisingly strong showing this year. Fifteen of the 35 individuals nominated, or nearly 43% of the total, are female. They are nominees in all six competitive categories, and took all three slots for the newly established David Raksin Award for emerging talent.

Four contenders received two nominations each: Jonny Greenwood (“Power of the Dog,” “Spencer”), Kid Cudi (songs in “Don’t Look Up” and “The Harder They Fall”), Germaine Franco (scores for “Encanto” and the game “Kung Fu Panda: The Land of Awesomeness”) and veteran songwriter Diane Warren (“Four Good Days,” “The Mustangs: America’s Wild Horses”).

Music superstars, who dominated the Oscar shortlist for best song, made less of an impact on SCL voters. Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Billie Eilish, Rufus Wainwright and Jay-Z made the list. But Van Morrison, Brian Wilson, H.E.R., Bono and Beyoncé — all shortlisted already by the Academy’s music branch — did not.

The SCL — the primary organization for professional film, TV, game and musical-theater composers and songwriters — departs from other awards groups in that it differentiates between studio films and independent films (thus making 10 slots available for composers), and songs in musical or comedy films and songs in drama or documentary films (allowing 10 slots for tunesmiths).

Actor-singer-songwriter Darren Criss will host the SCL event, which will also honor composer Carter Burwell and filmmakers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen with the Spirit of Collaboration Award for their 37-year history together. Performers are scheduled to include Grammy winner Judith Hill and Grammy nominees Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear (“Bridgerton: The Unofficial Musical”).

Past SCL winners who have gone on to Oscar wins include Hildur Guðnadóttir (“Joker”) and last year’s Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste (“Soul”).

The full nominations list:

Studio Film

Nicholas Britell, “Don’t Look Up” (Netflix)

Hans Zimmer, “Dune” (Warner Bros.)

Germaine Franco, “Encanto” (Walt Disney Pictures)

Alexandre Desplat, “The French Dispatch” (Searchlight Pictures)

Jonny Greenwood, “The Power of the Dog” (Netflix)

Independent Film

Kubilay Uner, “American Traitor: The Trial of Axis Sally” (Vertical Entertainment)

Daniel Hart, “The Green Knight” (A24)

Rachel Portman, “Julia” (Storyville Films / CNN)

Alberto Iglesias, “Parallel Mothers” (Sony Pictures Classics)

Jonny Greenwood, “Spencer” (Neon / Topic Studios)

Song, Musical / Comedy

Nicholas Britell, Ariana Grande, Kid Cudi, Taura Stinson, “Just Look Up” from “Don’t Look Up” (Netflix)

Jamie Hartman, Jennifer Hudson, Carole King, “Here I Am (Singing My Way Home)” from “Respect” (MGM / United Artists)

Amie Doherty, “Fearless” from “Spirit Untamed” (Dreamworks Animation)

Kris Bowers, Siedah Garrett, “Together All the Way” from “Dear White People” (Netflix)

Lin-Manuel Miranda, “Home All Summer” from “In the Heights” (Warner Bros.)

Song, Drama / Documentary

Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell, “No Time to Die” from “No Time to Die” (MGM / United Artists)

Diane Warren, “Somehow You Do” from “Four Good Days” (Vertical Entertainment)

Rufus Wainwright, “Secret Sister” from “Rebel Hearts” (Discovery +)

Diane Warren, “(Never Gonna) Tame You” from “The Mustangs: America’s Wild Horses” (Virgil Films)

Jay-Z, Kid Cudi, Jeymes Samuel, “Guns Go Bang” from “The Harder They Fall” (Netflix)

Television

Natalie Holt, “Loki” (Disney +)

Jung Jae-il, “Squid Game” (Netflix)

Nicholas Britell, “Succession” (HBO)

Christophe Beck, “WandaVision” (Disney +)

Cristobel Tapia de Veer, “The White Lotus” (Apple TV+)

Interactive

Austin Wintory, “Aliens: Fireteam Elite” (Cold Iron)

Hildur Guðnadóttir, Sam Slater, “Battlefield 2042” (Digital Illusions CE, Electronic Arts)

Germaine Franco, “Kung Fu Panda: Land of Awesomeness” (Universal Beijing Resorts, Dreamworks Animation)

David Raksin Award

Joy Ngiaw, “Blush” (Apple TV+)

Anne-Kathrin Dern, “The Claus Family” (Netflix)

Stephanie Economou, “Jupiter’s Legacy” (Netflix)

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