Last week Diane Warren scored her latest Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song as composer and lyricist of “Dear Me” for the documentary Diane Warren: Relentless (MasterClass/Greenwich Entertainment). This marks the ninth consecutive year that Warren has been a Best Original Song nominee. She now has a career total of 17 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 she 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.”
Part of that power comes from the relatability of Warren’s music–and her personal connection to story. For example, last year her Oscar nomination came on the strength of the original song “The Journey” for 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 work conditions–these women of the 6888th Postal Service Battalion were committed to serving their country with honor and distinction. Given an extraordinary mission and united in their determination, these unsung heroes delivered hope (in the form of mail from home to soldiers) and shattered barriers. Warren was immediately drawn to the story, feeling a kinship to it. She could relate to the women and their journey fueled by resilience and a belief in themselves.
Warren too 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. While she tapped into that for The Six Triple Eight, the connection became even more personal with Relentless, a documentary about her life–which needed a song in which she could impart a message to her younger self, a girl who dared to dream big.
So Warren wrote “Dear Me,” reaching out to the girl she was–isolated, bullied, a self-described “weirdo” and “a bit on the spectrum.” She remembered people–particularly other kids–having the capacity to be especially cruel to outcasts like her. Warren’s Relentless song thus sent a message of hope and support to those who are different, feeling shunned and marginalized by others.
A self-described “casting director”
Warren noted that just as important as writing the song is finding the right performer to sing it. She views herself as “a casting director” in the search for that special vocalist–and for “Dear Me,” Warren knew it had to be Kesha. “The artist has to be authentic for the movie–and authentic for the song,” explained Warren. “The difficulty is finding someone who’s both.”
Kesha fit that bill. Warren has known Kesha for years and they have a strong friendship. Besides being “a great singer,” Kesha, noted Warren, “hasn’t had it easy” in her life. Kesha knows first hand about facing adversity. The singer could be authentic in her performance relative to the spirit which drives the documentary and the song. Warren recalled playing “Dear Me” for Kesha in a studio for the first time. “She was sobbing,” related Warren, meaning that the song resonated for the singer who in turn could make it resonate for others.
Warren described “Dear Me” as “the most personal song I’ve written for a movie.” And what’s been particularly gratifying is that people seem to relate to the message. “We all have to struggle to get somewhere,” said Warren, adding that we “all have that wounded child in us. It’s still in us to this day.”
People have written to Warren, come up to her in person–most recently at this week’s ETM-LA (Education Through Music) event where she was honored with the Shining Star Award–and said that they found the movie and song to be inspiring. They can relate to the story and the lyrics. Feedback, said Warren, has included people sharing that the song has enabled them “to hug their younger selves.” Thus Warren’s biggest takeaway from her experience on Relentless was simply that “you could write the most personal song and have it become the most universal song.”
Written and directed by Bess Kargman, Diane Warren: Relentless is up for a Grammy Award on Sunday (2/1) for Best Music Film. “Dear Me” is also nominated for Outstanding Original Song for a Drama or Documentary at next week’s Society of Composers & Lyricists (SCL) Awards. Back in November 2025, Relentless won for Best Music Documentary–Special Program at the Hollywood Music in Media (HMMA) Awards, as well as Best Song–Documentary Film for “Dear Me.”
This is the 12th installment of SHOOT’s 16-part The Road To Oscar Series of feature stories. Shining a light on such disciplines as directing, cinematography, producing, editing, music, production design, visual effects and animation, this series will appear weekly all the way through to the Academy Awards gala ceremony. The 98th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Hollywood, Calif., televised live on ABC and streamed on Hulu.
