Key Takeaways

• Front-runners: The leading contenders for the award include “APT.” and “Golden.”
• Nominees: Other notable nominees are “Abracadabra” and “Anxiety.”
• Historical significance: If “APT.” wins, it will mark a milestone for Bruno Mars and Christopher Brody Brown.
• K-pop representation: “Golden” aims to be the first K-pop song to win in this category.

Presumed front-runners: “APT.” (Amy Allen, Christopher Brody Brown, Rogét Chahayed, Omer Fedi, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Chae Young Park, Theron Thomas & Henry Walter, songwriters); “Golden” (EJAE, Park Hong Jun, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo & Mark Sonnenblick, songwriters); “Luther” (Jack Antonoff, Roshwita Larisha Bacha, Matthew Bernard, Scott Bridgeway, Sam Dew, Ink, Kendrick Lamar, Solána Rowe, Mark Anthony Spears & Kamasi Washington, songwriters)

Other nominees: “Abracadabra” (Lady Gaga, Henry Walter & Andrew Watt); “Anxiety” (Jaylah Hickmon, songwriter); “DtMF” (Marco Daniel Borrero, Scott Dittrich, Benjamin Falik, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, Hugo René Sención Sanabria, Tyler Spry & Roberto José Rosado Torres, songwriters); “Manchild” (Amy Allen, Jack Antonoff & Sabrina Carpenter, songwriters); “Wildflower” (Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell, songwriters)

Notes: If “APT.” wins, Bruno Mars and his frequent co-writer Christopher Brody Brown will become the first three-time winners in the history of the category. They previously won for co-writing “That’s What I Like” and “Leave the Door Open.” (The same would be true if Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell win for “Wildflower.” They previously won for “bad guy” and “What Was I Made For?.”)

If either “Luther” or “APT.” wins, it will set a new record as the song with the most credited writers to prevail here. “Luther” has 10 credited writers. “APT.” has nine. (The current record is held by “That’s What I Like,” which had eight credited writers.) Moreover, if “Luther” wins, Kendrick Lamar will become just the second songwriter (following Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II) to win in this category in back-to-back years. D’Mile won with “I Can’t Breathe” in 2021 and “Leave the Door Open” in 2022.

“Golden” is vying to become the first K-pop smash to win in this category and the second film song to win in this category in the past three years. “What Was I Made For?” from Barbie won two years ago. “What Was I Made For?” also won an Oscar for best original song, a feat “Golden” might well duplicate. “Luther” is a gorgeous track, but the insanely catchy “Golden” is easier to hum when the voter is filling out his ballot.

Predicted winner: “Golden”