Diane Warren says being “biggest loser” in Oscars history is better than winning
Songwriter Diane Warren has said she is proud of being the “biggest loser ever” after securing an unwanted Oscars record.
On March 15th, during the 98th edition of the Academy Awards, Warren lost out in the ‘Best Original Song’ category to Huntr/X’s ‘Golden’ from K-Pop Demon Hunters.
This marked the 17th defeat, without a victory, of her career at the Oscars, which is a new record. She was previously tied on 16 with sound engineer Greg P Russell.
However, Warren, who has co-written classic tracks like Aerosmith’s ‘Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing’ and DeBarge’s ‘Rhythm of the Night’, is taking the title of “biggest loser” in her stride.
During an interview with NBCLA, Warren shared her thoughts on seeing an article that named her “the biggest loser like ever in the history of the Academy Awards”, and said, “I’ll take it.”
Warren elaborated with a glass-half-full approach to her record at the Oscars, sharing, “It means I’ve been nominated all these times.”
She then claimed, “If I had the choice of winning, you know, an Oscar — and I’ve been nominated all these times — I’m taking the multiple (nominations).’
Warren continued, “I’m taking the mantle of biggest loser ever. I’d rather have that than the competitive Oscar.”
Prior to the ceremony, Warren was probed about who she was rooting for at the Oscars while on the red carpet, and replied, “Me,” which is a change in tone from her latest comments with NBCLA.
While Warren has yet to win a competitive Oscar, she was previously awarded an honorary Oscar in 2022 for her services to songwriting.
However, in a recent interview with the New York Times, she admitted, “You know, I still haven’t won the competitive one. And I’m a competitive person. It’s amazing to have the honorary Oscar — that’s harder to get than the competitive. I don’t take that for granted. But, yeah, I still want to win. My honorary Oscar gets really lonely. He wants a friend. He hangs out with Rabbit, my cat, but he prefers to have an Oscar buddy.”
It’s hard to imagine that Warren won’t be nominated for another Oscar in the future, either. She has been shortlisted for ‘Best Original Song’ every year for a decade, and there’s likely plentiful opportunities to win ahead.
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