“Dear Me” is the name of the original song for which the legendary songwriter Diane Warren is Oscar-nominated this year —but it’s also what she says she thought, with a little bit of exasperation, when she sat down to record the medley, posted below, of all 17 songs for which she’s been nominated over the course of her career, as that is quite a lot of tunes to have written and to have to remember!
The tune, which Warren wrote for and is featured in Bess Kargman’s documentary Diane Warren: Relentless, extends the songwriter’s undesirable records for most noms in that Oscar category without a win and most noms for a woman in any Oscar category without a win. (Warren did receive an honorary statuette from the Academy in 2022, but it’s just not the same thing!) It’s also her ninth consecutive nom in the category, and eleventh nom in 12 years.
Given that Warren is a perennial bridesmaid, one might assume that the 69-year-old Van Nuys native is disliked by her peers, but the exact opposite, in fact, is true. She’s actually one of the most popular people in town, especially amongst her peers in the Academy’s music branch, who solely determine the best original song Oscar nominees. And you don’t rack up 17 noms because people don’t like you or your work.
Rather, the issue seems to be that in years when Warren has been nominated for an absolute banger (like, say, “How Do I Live,” from Con Air), she has had the misfortune of coming up against another one that is somehow even bigger (like, in that year, “My Heart Will Go On,” from Titanic). And when she has been nominated on other occasions (like, say, the year that she and Lady Gaga were co-nominated for “Til It Happens to You,” from the documentary The Hunting Ground), she has had the misfortune of coming up against songs from films that were much more widely seen by the full Academy (in that case, “Glory,” from Selma), which determines the best original song winner.
One never knows when the Oscar gods might smile upon Warren, so she assures THR that, as always, she will be at this year’s ceremony — where “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters is expected to win best original song— with hope in her heart and a speech in her pocket.
In the meantime, this musical walk down memory lane — which Warren recorded at RealSongs, her music publishing company’s headquarters in Hollywood —offers a powerful reminder of just how great —and unlucky —she has been for so long!