Diane Warren took her latest Oscars loss the same way she’s handled the last several: with a joke, a shrug, and a promise to come back.
At the 97th Academy Awards on March 2, 2025, Warren was nominated for Best Original Song for “The Journey” from Netflix’s The Six Triple Eight (performed by H.E.R.), marking her 16th Oscar nomination in the category. The prize ultimately went to “El Mal” from Emilia Pérez, written by Clément Ducol and Camille.
Instead of hiding from the moment, Warren leaned into it at the Vanity Fair Oscars after-party, where she told Variety she’s “consistent as f—,” adding, “It is what it is. I’m happy to be here.” She even compared herself to the Terminator, saying, in an Arnold-style voice, that she’ll be back and “you can’t get rid of me.”
The result extends one of the most famous “nearly there” streaks in Academy Awards history. Multiple outlets noted that the 2025 outcome kept Warren winless in competitive Oscar voting despite decades of nominations, a run that has turned into its own kind of legend—especially because her work is so deeply woven into pop culture through film ballads and radio hits.
That’s the part a lot of casual viewers miss: Warren isn’t “unawarded.” She’s won and been honored across the industry, including receiving an Honorary Oscar in 2022, and she’s openly said she remains proud of “The Journey,” even while acknowledging the absurdity of repeatedly coming up short on Oscar night.
If anything, her reaction this year reinforced the persona she’s built at the ceremony: the perennial nominee who refuses to treat the loss like a tragedy. Warren didn’t pretend it wasn’t disappointing, she just framed it as fuel. And given her output and the Academy’s continued appetite for her work, the safest prediction is the one she made herself: she’ll be back in the conversation again.
