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Sing Sing achieved a significant milestone as its song “Like a Bird” was honored with the award for Best Song Written and/or Recorded for a Film at the Guild of Music Supervisors (GMS) Awards this past Sunday. Songwriters Abraham Alexander, Brandon Marcel, and Adrian Quesada, alongside music supervisor Dan Wilcox, received accolades for their work on this original piece featured in the indie prison drama.
Notably, “Like a Bird” is one of just two contenders from the GMS recognized as potential nominees at the Oscars, with the other being “The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight, penned by renowned songwriter Diane Warren. Other Oscar-nominated songs such as “El Mal” and “Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez, as well as “Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late, were not represented at the GMS this year. Instead, the GMS nominations included “The Idea of You” from the romantic comedy of the same name, “Kiss the Sky” from The Wild Robot (which many deemed an unexpected snub by the Oscars), “Out of Oklahoma” from Twisters, and “Why I’m Here” from Shirley.
The GMS has been granting this songwriting award for the past nine years, and throughout that time, there has only been a match with Oscar winners on three occasions: for “City of Stars” from La La Land, “Shallow” from A Star is Born, and “What Was I Made For?” from Barbie. In four additional instances, GMS recognized songs that were Oscar-nominated but did not win, including “Mystery of Love” from Call Me by Your Name, “Hear My Voice” from The Trial of the Chicago 7, “Dos Oruguitas” from Encanto, and “This Is a Life” from Everything Everywhere All at Once. Last, GMS awarded songs that failed to receive Oscar nominations: “See You Again” from Furious 7 and “One Little Soldier” from Bombshell.
In addition to songwriting accolades, the Guild celebrated its achievements in music supervision across different budget categories, granting awards to Wicked for major-budget films, A Complete Unknown for mid-level films, and I Saw the TV Glow for low-budget projects. In the television sector, Baby Reindeer took home the award for best drama music supervision while English Teacher was recognized for comedy. The honor for the best song in television went to “The Ballad of the Witches’ Road (Sacred Chant Version)” from Agatha All Along, created by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. Additionally, Stephen Schwartz, the composer of Wicked, received the prestigious Icon Award, and music supervisor Bonnie Greenberg was recognized with the Legacy Award.
Founded in 2010, the GMS is a non-profit organization that champions the art of music supervision across film, television, and other forms of media. The 15th annual awards ceremony took place at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles, celebrating the critical role music plays in enhancing storytelling.
Below is the comprehensive list of winners across all categories:
FILM
Best Music Supervision in Major Budget Films
Jordan Carroll — Better Man
Dave Jordan — Deadpool and Wolverine
Julianne Jordan — The Instigators
Rachel Levy — Twisters
Tom MacDougall, Matt Walker — Moana 2
[winner] Maggie Rodford — Wicked
Best Music Supervision in Mid-Level Budget Films
Deva Anderson, Rachel Lautzenheiser — The Piano Lesson
Iain Cooke — Back to Black
Pierre-Marie Dru — Emilia Pérez
[winner] Steven Gizicki — A Complete Unknown
Frankie Pine — The Idea of You
Mary Ramos — The Greatest Hits
Best Music Supervision in Low Budget Films
[winner] Jessica Berndt, Chris Swanson — I Saw the TV Glow
James Cartwright — Dandelion
Csaba Faltay, Milena Fessmann — Maria
Kier Lehman — Los Frikis
James A. Taylor — The Brutalist
Scotty Taylor — My Old Ass
Best Music Supervision in a Non-Theatrically Released Film
Joel C. High, Sami Posner — Meet Me Next Christmas
Susan Jacobs, Jackie Mulhearn — Out of My Mind
Rob Lowry — Sweethearts
Aminé Ramer — Lonely Planet
Morgan Rhodes — Thelma the Unicorn
[winner] Robin Urdang — The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat
Best Song Written and/or Recorded for a Film
“The Idea of You” — The Idea of You; songwriters: Carl Falk, Savan Kotecha, Albin Nedler; performers: Anne-Marie, Nicholas Galitzine; music supervisor: Frankie Pine
“The Journey” — The Six Triple Eight; songwriter: Diane Warren; performer: H.E.R.; music supervisor: Joel C. High
“Kiss the Sky” — The Wild Robot; songwriters: Delacey, Jordan Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Maren Morris, Michael Pollack, Ali Tamposi; performer: Maren Morris; music supervisor: Natalie Hayden
[winner] “Like a Bird” — Sing Sing; songwriters: Abraham Alexander, Brandon Marcel, Adrian Quesada; performers: Abraham Alexander, Adrian Quesada; music supervisor: Dan Wilcox
“Out of Oklahoma” — Twisters; songwriters: Luke Dick, Shane McAnally, Lainey Wilson; performer: Lainey Wilson; music supervisor: Rachel Levy
“Why I’m Here” — Shirley; songwriters: Samara Joy, Paul Sylvester Morton Jr.; performer: Samara Joy; music supervisor: Madonna Wade-Reed
TELEVISION
Best Music Supervision in a Television Drama
Deva Anderson, Rachel Lautzenheiser — Masters of the Air Season 1
Matt Biffa — One Day Season 1
Linda Cohen — The Sympathizer Season 1
Stephanie Diaz-Matos — Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist Season 1
[winner] Catherine Grieves — Baby Reindeer Season 1
Trygge Toven — Fallout Season 1
Best Music Supervision in a Television Comedy
George Drakoulias, Ian Herbert — Palm Royale Season 1
Kerri Drootin, Charlie Haggard — Loot Season 2
Christa Miller, Tony Von Pervieux — Bad Monkey Season 1
Javier Nuño, Joe Rodríguez — Acapulco Season 3
[winner] Jen Ross — English Teacher Season 1
Best Music Supervision in Reality Television
Brandon Boucher, Peter Davis — The Challenge: All Stars Season 4
Jon Ernst — Love Is Blind Season 6
[winner] Meryl Ginsberg, Sara Torres, Jordan Young — Love Island USA Season 6
Carrie Hughes — Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta Season 11
Best Song Written and/or Recorded for Television
[winner] “The Ballad of the Witches’ Road (Sacred Chant Version)” — Agatha All Along; songwriters: Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez; performers: Agatha All Along Cast (Ali Ahn, Kathryn Hahn, Patti LuPone, Debra Jo Rupp, Sasheer Zamata); music supervisors: Dave Jordan, Justine von Winterfeldt
“Do You See Me Now” — Sweetpea; songwriters: Daisy Bertenshaw, Isobel Waller-Bridge; performers: CHINCHILLA, Isobel Waller-Bridge; music supervisor: Ollie White
“Egún” — Manhunt; songwriter: Danielle Ponder; performer: Danielle Ponder; music supervisors: Lindsey Driscoll, Brienne Rose
“Feel It” — Invincible; songwriters: David Burke, Noah Ehler, Sam Homaee, Gray Toomey; performer: d4vd; music supervisors: Gabe Hilfer, Henry van Roden
“The First Cut Is the Deepest” — The Brothers Sun; songwriter: Cat Stevens; performer: Bo Wang; music supervisor: Angela Asistio
DOCUMENTARIES
Best Music Supervision in a Documentary Film
Maureen Crowe, Lisa Moberly, Janet Billig Rich — Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple
Justin Feldman — Music by John Williams
Jonathan Finegold — Gaucho Gaucho
Dawn Sutter Madell — Eno
[winner] Aminé Ramer — Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary
Best Music Supervision in a Docuseries
[winner] Sam Carlin, Drew Kramer — Lolla: The Story of Lollapalooza Season 1
Alexandra Eckhardt — Kings from Queens: The Run DMC Story Season 1
Ed Gerrard — Gospel Season 1
Gary Welch — Camden Season 1
Allison Wood — Breath of Fire Season 1
ADVERTISING
Best Music Supervision in Advertising (Synch)
Abbey Hendrix, Jonathan Wellbelove — iPhone 15 Storage — “Don’t Let Me Go”
Andrew Kahn, Morgan Thoryk — “Two-Step”
Mike Ladman, Mara Techam — “Breaking Moves the World”
[winner] Peymon Maskan, Gemma Schladow, Alec Stern, Jenna Wilson — “Power of She”
Nicole Palko, Jonathan Wellbelove — “iPhone 15 Plus Battery — One More”
Best Music Supervision in Advertising (Original Music)
Danielle Beauvoir, Nick Maker — “Out of This World: The Official Anthem of the Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup”
Abbey Hendrix, Jonathan Wellbelove — “iPhone 16 — Imagine It. Genmoji It.”
Scott McDaniel — “1 Performance, 30 Years in the Making”
[winner] Patrick Lawrence Zappia — “Give Your Gift.”
Best Music Supervision in Advertising (Long-Form)
Codie Childs — “PS5 | Play Has No Limits”
Connie Edwards, Sunny Kapoor — “Spot it Early”
Mike Ladman, Mara Techam — “A Mountain of Entertainment — Hail Patrick”
Mike Ladman, Mara Techam — “H.O.R.S.E. on a Horse”
Nellie Rajabi, Jonathan Wellbelove — “The Relay”
[winner] Al Risi — “An American Love Story”
TRAILERS
Best Music Supervision in a Trailer (Film)
Megan Barbour, Greg Smith, Tyler Torrison — 28 Years Later — Official Trailer
[winner] Maggie Baron — Anora — Official Redband Trailer
Deric Berberabe, Jordan Silverberg — Thunderbolts* — Trailer 2
Anny Colvin — We Live in Time — Official Trailer
Will Quiney — Cuckoo — Official Trailer
Best Music Supervision in a Trailer (Series)
[winner] Deric Berberabe, Hudson Saxe, Jordan Silverberg — Severance: Season 2 — Official Trailer
Bobby Gumm — 3 Body Problem — Final Trailer
Vanessa Jorge Perry — Skeleton Crew — Official Trailer
Scenery Samundra, Gregory Sweeney — Disclaimer — Official Trailer
Naaman Snell — The Last of Us: Season 2 — Official Teaser
Best Music Supervision in a Trailer (Video Game & Interactive)
[winner] Jonny Altepeter, Jackie Palazzolo, Vitaly Shenderovsky — “Valorant” — Clove Agent Trailer — 2 Worlds
Alex Hackford, Lindsey Kohon, Naaman Snell — “Destiny 2: The Final Shape” — Launch Trailer
Lindsey Kohon — “Black Ops 6” — Gameplay Reveal Trailer
Raphaella Lima, Steve Schnur — “College Football 25” — Official Reveal Trailer
Raphaella Lima, Michael Sherwood — “Apex Legends: Upheaval” — Gameplay Trailer
VIDEO GAMES
Best Music Supervision in a Video Game (Synch)
Benjamin Beladi — The Sandbox — Alpha Season 4
Maya Halfon Cordova, Kyle Hopkins — Forza Horizon 5 — Retrowave
Nora Felder — Stranger Things VR
Alex Hackford — MLB The Show 24
[winner] Raphaella Lima, Cybele Pettus, Steve Schnur — EA Sports FC 25
Ryan Tomlin, Brandon Young — Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Best Music Supervision in a Video Game (Original Music)
Manu Bachet, Raphaël Joffres — Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown; composers: Gareth Coker, Mentrix
Codie Childs, James Marshall — Lego Horizon Adventures; Composer: Homay Schmitz
Codie Childs, James Marshall — Until Dawn; Composer: Mark Korven
Glenn Herweijer, Ben Sumner — Life Is Strange: Double Exposure; composers: Glenn Herweijer, Nick Hill, Tessa Rose Jackson, Luciano Rossi
[winner] Steve Schnur — Dragon Age: The Veilguard; composers: Lorne Balfe, Hans Zimmer
Sam Yang — Delta Force; composers: Edwin, Jason H, LUMi, Johan Söderqvist, Zio
Source
www.goldderby.com