“Golden,” the fizzy global smash from KPop Demon Hunters, won best song at the 31st Critics Choice Awards, which were held at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif., on Sunday (Jan. 4). Ludwig Göransson’s music for Sinners won best score.
Both “Golden” and the Sinners score are nominated in those same categories at the Golden Globe Awards, which will be presented on Jan. 11. Both are also shortlisted for Oscars in those categories. Oscar nominations will be announced on Jan. 22.
“Golden” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks. It’s the first former No. 1 hit to win at the Critics Choice Awards since “See You Again” from Furious 7 a decade ago. That hip-hop smash topped the Hot 100 for 12 weeks. (“Shallow” from A Star Is Born also hit No. 1, but not prior to awards season. It hit No. 1 after it won the Oscar.)
EJAE and Mark Sonnenblick accepted the award for “Golden,” with EJAE saying “We’re so honored to accept this award on behalf of our whole ‘Golden’ songwriting team, including 24, Ido and Teddy…While writing the song, I found myself living vicariously through my character Rumi. Her life and journey in the movie felt deeply familiar to me. The song needed to be an expression of hope to convince herself that she could write and reach for her dreams. In many ways it did the same for me. But most importantly for it to be giving hope to so many people around the world is truly the greatest honor.”
Sonnenblick thanked “all of the fans who found this movie, who spread the word about it and who do blast and scream/sing the song in the car. Thank you so much. We’re honored to be a part of this moment.”
If “Golden” also wins at the Oscars, it would mark the first time the winning song has had as many as five credited writers. The Academy has a rule that no more than four statuettes will be presented in this category, so these five writers have agreed that, should they win, they will share one statuette for their song.
This is Göransson’s second Critics Choice Award for best score. He won two years ago for Oppenheimer. He’s the first composer to win twice in the space of three years since Justin Hurwitz, who won for La La Land (2016) and First Man (2018).
Four of the six Critics Choice Award winners for best original score since 2020 went on to win in that category at the Oscars. Likewise, four of the seven winners for best original song since 2020 (there was a tie in 2020) went on to win at the Oscars.
Frankenstein and Sinners each won four awards, making them the leaders on the film side. One Battle After Another won three, including best picture. KPop Demon Hunters and F1 each won two. (KPop Demon Hunters‘ second award was best animated feature). Wicked: For Good and Sentimental Value were both shut out, despite seven nominations each.
In TV categories, Adolescence came out on top with four awards, followed by The Pitt and The Studio, with three each. Jimmy Kimmel Live! won best talk show. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver won best variety series, beating Saturday Night Live, but SNL50: The Anniversary Special won best comedy special. Nobody Wants This went 0-5 on the night, which was the biggest shutout on the TV side.
Chelsea Handler hosted the Critics Choice Awards for the fourth consecutive year. It was broadcast live on E! and USA Network.
Here’s a complete list of nominations in both film and TV categories, with the winners marked.
