Charli xcx Nominated for Best Original Song at 2026 World Soundtrack Awards: Will Oscar Nod Follow?

UPDATE (Aug. 26): The World Soundtrack Awards announced nominations in four additional categories today, including the public choice award. Fittingly, the nominees in that category hail from around the world. Simon Franglen (Avatar: Fire and Ash) and Daniel Pemberton (Project Hail Mary) are English, Kevin Smithers (Soy Frankelda) is Mexican; Ludek Drizhal (Starbright) is Czech; and Marcelo Zarvos (KPop Demon Hunters) is Brazilian.

Winners will be announced on Saturday Oct. 10 at the annual WSA Ceremony & Concert during Film Fest Gent, Belgium’s biggest international film festival.

PREVIOUSLY (Aug. 5): We won’t know if Charli xcx will receive an Oscar nomination for her songs from Emerald Fennell’s film Wuthering Heights until the nods are announced on Jan. 21, but Charli is vying in that category at the 2026 World Soundtrack Awards.

Film Fest Gent and the World Soundtrack Academy revealed the first wave of nominations for the World Soundtrack Awards on Wednesday (Aug. 5).

“House,” which Charli cowrote with John Cale, Nathan Klein and Finn Keane, is competing with four songs from 2025 films: “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters, which won the Oscar for best original song in March; “Train Dreams” from Train Dreams, which was nominated in that category; “No Place Like Home” from Wicked: For Good, which was shortlisted but not nominated; and “Stolen Tale” from Hedda, which wasn’t shortlisted.

Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir is double nominated at the World Soundtrack Awards. She’s vying for best original song for the aforementioned song from Hedda and film composer of the year for her work on The Bridge!, Hedda and 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.

The other nominees for film composer of the year include Alexandre Desplat (Frankenstein), Jonny Greenwood (One Battle After Another) and Max Richter (Hamnet), all of whom were nominated for Oscars for best original score in March, and Daniel Pemberton, who has yet to be Oscar-nominated for best original score (though he was nominated for best original song for cowriting “Hear My Voice” from The Trial of the Chicago 7).

The second wave of nominations — in the categories discovery of the year, public choice award, game music award and Belgian film composer of the year — will be announced on Sept. 3.

The 26th edition of the World Soundtrack Awards Ceremony & Concert is set to take place on Saturday, Oct. 10, at Music Centre De Bijloke in Ghent during Film Fest Gent, Belgium’s biggest international film festival.

Film composer of the year

 Alexandre Desplat – Frankenstein; Eagles of the Republic; Jurassic World Rebirth; L’homme qui rétrécit (The Shrinking Man)

 Jonny Greenwood – One Battle After Another

 Hildur Guðnadóttir – The Bride!; Hedda; 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

 Daniel Pemberton – Project Hail Mary; The Drama; The Bad Guys 2; Masters of the Universe

 Max Richter – Hamnet

Television composer of the year

 David Fleming – Widow’s Bay

 Finneas O’Connell – Beef (season two)

 Martin Phipps, Benji Merrison – Steal

 Dave Porter – Pluribus

 Jeff Russo – Alien: Earth; Cape Fear; Citadel (season two)

Best original song

“Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters – written by Kim Eun-jae, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo, Teddy Park | performed by Huntrix

“House” from Wuthering Heights – written by Charli xcx, John Cale, Nathan Klein, Finn Keane | performed by Charli xcx, John Cale

“No Place Like Home” from Wicked: For Good – written by Stephen Schwartz | performed by Cynthia Erivo

“Stolen Tale” from Hedda – written by Hildur Guðnadóttir, Nia DaCosta | performed by Mariam Wallentin

“Train Dreams” from Train Dreams – written by Nick Cave, Bryce Dessner | performed by Nick Cave

Lifetime achievement award

 Trevor Jones

Best original composition by a young composer

 Xabier Doural García

 Lidia Pozo Perez

 Yeakun Yoo

Discovery of the year

Mari Fukuhara – Little Amélie or the Character of Rain

Paris Hurley – The Chronology of Water

Kangding Ray – SIRÀT

Hannah Peel – Midwinter Break

Sam Slater – 2000 Meters to Andriivka

Public choice award

 Avatar: Fire and Ash – Simon Franglen

 Soy Frankelda – Kevin Smithers

 Project Hail Mary – Daniel Pemberton

 Starbright – Ludek Drizhal

 KPop Demon Hunters – Marcelo Zarvos

Game music award

Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss – Nicolas Garcia

Crimson Desert – Hwiman Ryu, Inro Joo, Hyoung Woo Roh, Jiyoon Kim, Dongjune Oh

Dispatch – Andrew Arcadi

Marathon – Ryan Lott

UNBEATABLE – rj lake, Vasily Nikolaev, Rachel Lake, and Clara Maddux (D-CELL SOUND TEAM)

Belgian film composer of the year

 Margaret Hermant – A la cara (Nothing Personal); Mallorca Confidencial

 Frederik Van de Moortel – De Pupil

 Frédéric Vercheval – Les Tourmentés