Surprise! Diane Warren Is Back in the Oscar Race

If history is any indication, the first of this year’s Oscar nominees for Best Original Song has just been unveiled.

Songwriter Diane Warren announced Wednesday that her song “By Any Means,” from the movie of the same name, will be available on streaming platforms Aug. 21, followed by a music video Aug. 28 and a soundtrack album Sept. 18.

It will also be eligible for the Oscar, and eligible to extend Warren’s record streak of nine consecutive nominations in the original-song category.

Warren has been nominated for an Oscar 17 times, including 11 times in the last 12 years and nine times in a row. In total nominations in the category, she trails only Sammy Cahn (26 nominations) and Johnny Mercer (18). She has yet to win a competitive Oscar, though she received an Academy Honorary Award in 2022, becoming the only songwriter to be honored with one.

Warren has made it clear that she will continue to write new songs for movies every year, while voters in the Academy’s music branch have made it clear that they will continue to nominate her every time she’s eligible. But so far, the main body of voters who cast ballots in the final round have resisted taking her success any further than the nominations.

“By Any Means” exists in two versions, performed by Nashville-based singer-songwriter David Kushner (“Daylight,” “Mr. Forgettable”) and R&B and soul pioneers The Isley Brothers.

The song is perhaps less uplifting and overtly inspirational than some of Warren’s recent nominated songs, with a message of defiance: “They can make whatever rules they make / We won’t let those rules get in our way.” It moves to an emphatic, deliberate beat punctuated by bluesy guitar and a gospel-style chorus. The soundtrack version is the lusher recording, with the movie version sparser and ghostlier.

“By Any Means” is the first of Warren’s eligible movie songs to bear the same title as the film in which it appears.

The film “By Any Means” is directed by Elegance Bratton (“The Inspection”) and stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as an FBI agent who teams up with a hitman played by Mark Wahlberg to investigate a wave of murders of civil rights workers in the 1960s. The film is inspired by true events that took place in the South during that era.

In a statement, Warren said she wanted to channel the spirit of the film and write about “those who go beyond the rules to do what is necessary.”

Preliminary voting in the Best Original Song category will take place from Dec. 7-11, with a 15-song shortlist announced Dec. 15. The nomination round of voting will follow from Jan. 11-15, 2027, with nominations announced on Jan. 21.

Of the 60 songs that have received Oscar nominations over the last 12 years, only 16 have been written by solo songwriters. Eight of those have been Warren’s songs.