Diane Warren Explains Why She Deserves to Best Original Song at Oscars 2025 After 15 Losses
Diane Warren really wants her song from the new Netflix movie The Six Triple Eight to be her first Oscar win.
If you didn’t know, the 68-year-old songwriter has been nominated by the Academy in the Best Original Song category 15 times, but has never won. She’s nominated again at the 2025 Oscars for her song “The Journey” featured in Tyler Perry‘s new movie.
In a new interview, Diane explained how the song reflects her own relationship and journey with the Oscars.
Keep reading to find out more…“First and foremost, it’s the song that that reflects the 6,888 battalion and these women’s journey,” Diane told Entertainment Weekly about The Six Triple Eight.
“But I also could totally relate to it because my Oscar journey started five decades ago. That’s a lot of f–king years,” she continued. “1988 was my first nomination, for ‘Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now.’ I’ve been nominated in every decade since and haven’t won yet. But it’s all part of the journey. And actually, I do love the journey of it. It’s really fun.”
Diane then went on to share why she believes that “The Journey” is her most deserving song to win an Oscar.
“This would be definitely the most deserving to me,” Diane shared. “There’s been a couple, back in the day. But honestly, it sounds really cliche, but it’s not a cliche, because it is an amazing honor to be nominated. They only choose five songs, and then you’re chosen by your peers, who are the best of the best. You just hope that people listen to the song. If they listen to this one, it’s a pretty good song. I’m really proud of it.”
She also talked about collaborating with singer H.E.R. on the song.
“I always say that I’m a casting director when I do a song for a movie,” Diane explained. “The artist always has to be authentic to the movie and the song. It’s two things that are super important, and if one of those things don’t work, it doesn’t work.”
Diane then recalled meeting H.E.R., now 27, years ago, saying, “I met her when she was a kid, when she was like 14 or 15. I was blown away by how great she was even at that age. We were going to do something, and it didn’t work out. Then, at the 2021 Oscars, we were both nominated. She ended up beating me that year, but we reconnected.”
H.E.R. won Best Original Song in 2021 for her song “Fight For You” from Judas and the Black Messiah.
“Later, she reached out to me and said, ‘I think we should work together,’” Diane said of H.E.R. “I’m like, ‘Come on over,’ because I had just written ‘The Journey,’ and I’m like, ‘Oh, my god, she’s the perfect artist for this song. She’s so right for this song and for this movie.’”
Diane then said that H.E.R. recorded “The Journey” in just one day.
“I played her the song on the piano, and she was touched by it,” Diane remembered. “She related that to her life, the journey she’s been on. There’s so many layers to the song — like our journeys came back together after 12 years. She’s 27 now.”
“She recorded it that day,” she continued. “The song really spoke to her and her life, so she recorded the piano, the guitar, and sang one of the best vocals I’ve ever heard in my life. She heard it for the first time, left, laid down the basic track, and the vocal was done on that song. It was just magical. I don’t know who else would have done that song justice.”
The 2025 Oscars will take place on Sunday, March 2 on ABC. Check out the full list of nominations here!