It has been a remarkable–and ongoing–Academy Awards run for Diane Warren who last week scored her latest nomination for Best Original Song as composer and lyricist on “The Journey” for The Six Triple Eight (Netflix). This marks the eighth consecutive year that Warren has been a Best Original Song nominee. She now has a career total of 16 nominations.
While Warren has yet to win a competitive Oscar, she hasn’t gone empty-handed when it comes to the coveted statuette. In 2022, Warren became the first songwriter to win an Honorary Oscar. The Academy Board of Governors bestowed the special award upon Warren “for her genius, generosity and passionate commitment to the power of song in film.”
The Honorary Oscar recognized Warren’s enduring artistry which has spanned five decades thus far. It began in 1988 with her Oscar nomination for a song from Mannequin. Then in the ‘90s she garnered three nominations for songs from the films Up Close & Personal in 1997, Con Air in ‘98, and Armageddon in ‘99. Next came nominations for songs from Music of the Heart in 2000 and Pearl Harbor in 2002. The 2010s had Warren earning nominations for songs from Beyond the Lights in 2015, The Hunting Ground in 2016, Marshall in 2018, and RBG in 2019. Oscar vision in the 2020s saw nods for songs from Breakthrough in 2020, The Life Ahead in ‘21, Four Good Days in ‘22, Tell It Like a Woman in ‘23, and Flamin’ Hot in ‘24.
The string of nominations now continues with The Six Triple Eight, a film inspired by the first and only Women’s Army Corps unit of color to serve overseas in World War II. Despite facing racism and sexism–and grueling working conditions–these women were committed to serving their country with honor and distinction. Given an extraordinary mission and united in their determination, these unsung heroes delivered hope and shattered barriers. Written and directed by Tyler Perry, the film stars Kerry Washington as Major Charity Adams, the commanding officer of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. Produced by Perry, Nicole Avant, Angi Bones, Tony L. Strickland, Keri Selig and Carlota Espinosa, the film features an ensemble cast including Ebony Obsidian, Milauna Jackson, Kylie Jefferson, Shanice Shantay, Sarah Jeffery, Pepi Sonuga, Moriah Brown, Jeanté Godlock and Susan Sarandon, with Dean Norris, Sam Waterston and Oprah Winfrey. Based on an article by Kevin M. Hymel, the film features Warren’s original song “The Journey” performed by H.E.R., with choreography by Debbie Allen.
Warren noted that a friend of 20 years, producer Selig, brought her into The Six Triple Eight fold. Warren happened to run into Selig at an industry gathering. Warren recalled that she almost didn’t attend but is grateful–and credited fate–that she did. There Selig talked of this movie she was working on, and thought Warren could do justice to the story musically. Initially Warren was shown a sizzle reel. There was no script. But Warren was immediately drawn to the story, feeling a kinship to it.
Warren regards herself as an underdog, someone whose dream to have a career in music was doubted by others yet she sought to prove herself and wound up bucking the odds. She thus could relate to the woman of the 6888th Battalion–and their journey fueled by resilience and a belief in themselves. Fittingly this ultimately translated into a song also titled “The Journey,” with lyrics that read in part, “All the times they thought that they could hold you back. But you’ve always known there was no chance of that.”
The fates not only smiled upon Warren relative to connecting with Selig on The Six Triple Eight but also bringing about her first collaboration with Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson, known professionally as H.E.R., Warren first saw Wilson as a teenager and was deeply impressed with her talent and versatility. “I met Gabby when she was 14 or 15–she sang, wrote, played seemingly every instrument,” recalled Warren. Early on there was talk of they’re working together on a project but that didn’t come to fruition. Fast forward to the “crazy COVID Oscars” in 2021, recollected Warren, where their paths crossed again. H.E.R. won the Oscar that night for the song “Fight for You” from Judas and the Black Messiah, topping a field of nominees which included Warren and Laura Pausini who were up for the song “Io Si (Seen)” from The Life Ahead.
That night helped to lay the groundwork for Warren and H.E.R. working together down the road. Lo and behold H.E.R. later reached out to Warren right when she had just written “The Journey.” The two got together and right after Warren played the song for H.E.R. for the first time , they went to work. Some four hours later, the initial vocal, the piano and guitar track were done. Warren marveled over H.E.R.’s talent. “It was a master class in the perfect vocal,” said Warren who described H.E.R.’s rendition as “one of the best things I ever heard.”
Later on, H.E.R. produced the record in New York, put in strings, drums, and Warren discovered that the artist was also “a great record producer.”
Warren observed that the song in a sense reflected the journey she and H.E.R. shared. “I met her when she was a kid. And here we are now with this song called ‘The Journey.’ There are so many perfect meant-to-be things about this whole song, the movie and the record, including just running into my friend Keri [Selig] by chance to begin with.
Warren’s Oscar nomination is the lone one received by The Six Triple Eight, a film that has garnered critical and commercial success. On the latter score, The Six Triple Eight has attracted eyeballs at an impressive rate. For example in just its first four weeks on Netflix, the feature tallied some 52.4 million views.
Warren’s creative reach extends beyond the Oscars. She has penned nine #1 and 33 top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and is tied for having written the most #1 songs as a sole writer in Billboard history. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001 and received the prestigious Johnny Mercer Award from the organization in June 2024. Her catalog features beloved songs including “Only Love Can Hurt Like This,” “Un-Break My Heart,” “If I Could Turn Back Time” and “Rhythm of the Night.”
She is a Grammy Award winner with 15 nominations, an Emmy winner, and a two-time Golden Globe winner whose songs have been featured in more than 150 films, including chart-topping hits “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” (Mannequin), “Because You Loved Me” (Up Close and Personal), “How Do I Live” (Con Air), “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” (Armageddon) and “Til It Happens To You” (The Hunting Ground).
This is the 14th installment of our weekly 16-part The Road To Oscar Series of feature stories. The 97th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 2.
