“Sinners” composer Ludwig Göransson and “KPop Demon Hunters” singer-songwriter EJAE led the winners of the 7th Composers and Lyricists Association Award.
Göransson won two SCL Awards for his score for “Sinners” and for his original song “I Lied to You,” which he co-wrote with Raphael Saadiq. Songwriters EJAE and Mark Sonnenblick won for “Golden” for Outstanding Original Song in a Comedy or Musical.
Other winners include “Train Dreams” composer Bryce Dessner, who won the award for Outstanding Original Score for an Independent Film.
Goransson and “Sinners” director Ryan Coogler received the Spirit of Collaboration award.
In the television category, composer Theodore Shapiro won the award for Outstanding Score for a Television Production for “Severance,” and “White Lotus” composer Cristóbal Tapia de Vere won for Original Title Sequence for a Television Production.
SCL celebrated the 50th anniversary of Rocky with a musical tribute and performance conducted by Academy Award-winning composer Bill Conti, who composed the scores for five films in the hit series and co-wrote its iconic theme, “Gonna Fly Now.” Selina Goranson also conducted the ensemble in a medley of Coogler film themes.
Melissa Manchester appeared in the memorial segment and sang “I’ll Never Say Goodbye,” the Oscar-nominated song from the 1979 film The Promise, written by David Shire and the late Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman. This corner featured Alan Bergman, who passed away in 2025.
The awards ceremony was held at the Skirball Center in Los Angeles and was hosted by Kevin Bacon and Emmy Award-winning composer Michael Bacon (The Bacon Brothers).
Complete list of 2025 SCL Awards winners:
Great original scores for studio films.
Ludwig Göransson – “Sinners”
Great original scores for independent films
Bryce Dessner “Train Dreams”
Excellent original song for drama or documentary visual media production
Rafael Sadik & Ludwig Göransson – “I Lied To You” – “Sinners”
Excellent original song for comedy or musical visual media production
EJAE & Mark Sonnenblick – “Golden” – “KPop Demon Hunters”
Great original title sequence in television production.
Cristóbal Tapia de Vier – “The White Lotus”
Great original scores for television productions.
Theodore Shapiro – “Disconnection”
Great original score for interactive media
Austin Wintory – “Sword of the Sea”
David Raksin Award Emerging Talent Award
Qingshan Zhang – “The Law of Man”
