The awards season sirens officially went off this morning, and the music world is already buzzing. The 2026 Golden Globe nominations dropped with the kind of chaotic sparkle only Hollywood can deliver, and this year’s music categories? Fully stacked. Think prestige auteurs, experimental legends, pop supernovas and at least one K-pop juggernaut barreling toward an easy win.
Jonny Greenwood and Max Richter Headline a Heavy Score Field
First up: the Best Original Score showdown. Jonny Greenwood, a Golden Globes regular at this point, is back in the ring for One Battle After Another, his latest tag-team effort with Paul Thomas Anderson. The film is already sitting pretty with nine nominations, tying it for the third-most nods ever.
Right next to Greenwood on the ballot is Max Richter for Hamnet, whose lush, aching compositions have quietly built cult status over the past decade. Seeing him finally land mainstream awards recognition feels overdue, the way TikTok “discovers” a 2014 indie song and acts like it’s brand new.
The rest of the score category? Pure boss-level difficulty. Alexandre Desplat (Frankenstein), Hans Zimmer (F1), and Ludwig Göransson (Sinners) are all in the mix. If you’re betting, Göransson repeating seems like the safe money, but Greenwood pulling an upset would spark the score-nerd equivalent of a Super Bowl parade.
Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner Earn First-Ever Globe Nods
Over in Best Original Song, two names you probably didn’t expect to see on the Golden Globe nominees list are finally getting their flowers: Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner. Their title track for the Netflix drama Train Dreams earned them both their first-ever nominations.
They’re up against some absolute industry tanks. Miley Cyrus scored a nod for her Avatar: Fire and Ash track, while pop titan Raphael Saadiq competes with Sinners. Meanwhile, Wicked fans are eating good: both Cynthia Erivo’s No Place Like Home and Ariana Grande’s The Girl In The Bubble made the cut.
But let’s be real. The internet already crowned the likely winner. Golden by the KPop Demon Hunters team is the sort of cultural runaway train that award shows pretend they’re not afraid of, then immediately fold to.
Big Names, Big Films, Bigger Drama
The nominee slate goes way beyond music, but the crossover moments are strong. Jeremy Allen White is nominated for portraying Bruce Springsteen in Deliver Me From Nowhere. Ariana Grande and Teyana Taylor are up for supporting roles in their respective films. Even KPop Demon Hunters shows up again in the Animated Feature and Cinematic Achievement categories.
If this is the starting line, the 2026 awards race is about to be messy, emotional and extremely online.
The Golden Globes air January 5 on CBS and Paramount+, hosted by Nikki Glaser. Expect discourse. Expect stan wars. Expect Jonny Greenwood fans manifesting victory on every platform imaginable.
One thing’s certain: music is driving the cultural heartbeat of this year’s nominations, and the industry’s most adventurous artists are finally getting center stage.
FAQ
- Who are the Golden Globes 2026 Best Original Score nominees?
The category features Jonny Greenwood (One Battle After Another), Max Richter (Hamnet), Alexandre Desplat (Frankenstein), Hans Zimmer (F1) and Ludwig Göransson (Sinners). - Which artists were nominated for Best Original Song at the 2026 Golden Globes?
Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner (Train Dreams), Miley Cyrus (Avatar), Raphael Saadiq (Sinners), and standout tracks from Wicked: For Good and KPop Demon Hunters all made the list. - When will the 2026 Golden Globe Awards take place?
The ceremony is set for January 5, 2026, airing on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.