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Diane Warren has been nominated 17 times for Best Original Song. Why hasn’t she won yet?

Warren’s written iconic hits like “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.” But she’s historically bad at winning Oscars.

At the Academy Awards on Sunday, we will either see one of the longest losing streaks of all time come to an end, or see history being made. Songwriter Diane Warren never won an Oscar for Best Original song, despite being nominated so many times. If she doesn’t clinch it again, she will be 0 for 17, making her the most consistent loser in Oscar history.

Warren’s dry spell is confounding because it’s based on her greatness.

With hits like “How Do I Live” (Con Air) and “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” (Armageddon), this woman has written some of the greatest movie songs of all time. The fact that she’s been nominated by her peers 17 times seems to signify that she’s doing something right.

How is Diane Warren so incredibly good at making songs that get Oscar nominations, but so incredibly bad at making songs that win?

This year Warren is nominated for “Dear Me,” a song from Relentless, a documentary about Warren herself. It’s a good time to examine the history of the category, what Oscar voters like in an original song, Warren’s chance this year, and whether she could win in the future if she misses out on Sunday (which seems likely since KPop Demon Hunters’s “Golden” has dominated awards season).

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Is there such a thing as Original Song Oscar bait?

A common descriptor that pops up around certain movies, actors, and actresses is that it’s “Oscar bait.” Slightly insulting, the term refers to the kind of films (epic war dramas, monologues, period pieces, “important” movies) and performances (portrayals of musicians and famous leaders, and roles where actors get “ugly”), that Academy voters have historically rewarded. It also can refer to movies that appeal to voters on paper (see: A Complete Unknown and Maestro) but don’t necessarily win.

It could probably also apply when........

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