| Black Reel Award for Outstanding Original Song | |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | The Black Reel Awards (BRAs) |
| First awarded | Black Reel Awards of 2001 |
| Most recent winner | H.E.R. "Automatic Woman" (Black Reel Awards of 2022) |
| Website | blackreelawards |
This article lists the winners and nominees for the Black Reel Award for Outstanding Original Song. It's presented to the performer and songwriters for the best original song written specially for a film. Performers who also wrote the song is credited with one win or nomination.
This award was first introduced as Outstanding Original or Adapted song from 2001 - 2013. At the 14th Annual Black Reel Awards the category was renamed to Outstanding Original Song only allowing original songs written specifically for a film to be eligible.
This award was first presented at the 2nd Annual Black Reel Awards where Meshell Ndegeocello's "Fool of Me" from Love & Basketball won.
John Legend holds the record with the most wins as both a performer and songwriter with 3 wins. Legend is the most nominated songwriter in this category with 6 nominations and tied with Beyonce for the most nominations as a performer with 5 nominations.
Other multiple winners in this category includes Raphael Saadiq, Mary J. Blige & Common (rapper).
Love & Basketball, The Brothers, Brown Sugar, Dreamgirls, The Princess and the Frog, The Butler, Creed, Black Panther, Queen & Slim & The Harder They Fall are the only films to receive 2 or more nominations in this category. The Butler, Creed & The Harder They Fall are the only films to not have one of their songs win.
Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.
| Year | Artist | Writers | Song | Film | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | |||||
| Meshell Ndegeocello | Meshell Ndegeocello and Federico Peña | "Fool of Me" | Love & Basketball | [1] | |
| Destiny's Child | Beyoncé, Cory Rooney, Tone (as Samuel J. Barnes) and Poke (as Jean Claude Olivier) | "Independent Women" | Charlie's Angels | ||
| Janet Jackson | Janet Jackson, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis | "Doesn't Really Matter" | Nutty Professor II: The Klumps | ||
| Donell Jones | Rahsaan Patterson and Steve 'Silk' Hurley | "I'll Go" | Love & Basketball | ||
| R. Kelly | R. Kelly | "Bad Man" | Shaft | ||
| Lucy Pearl | Dawn Robinson and Raphael Saadiq | "Dance Tonight" | Love & Basketball | ||
| 2002 | |||||
| Eric Benét | Eric Benet | "Love Don't Love Me" | The Brothers | [2] | |
| Snoop Dogg, Tyrese Gibson and Mr. Tan | Battlecat, Tyrese Gibson, Snoop Dogg and Olan Thompson | "Just a Baby Boy" | Baby Boy | ||
| R. Kelly | R. Kelly | "The World's Greatest" | Ali | ||
| Nelly | Nelly and Waiel Yaghnam | "#1" | Training Day | ||
| R.L. | Charles Bereal, Kenneth Bereal & Walter Worth Milsap | "Good Love" | The Brothers | ||
| 2003 | |||||
| Erykah Badu and Common | Raphael Saadiq, Erykah Badu, Madukwu Chinwah, Common, Bobby Ozuna, James Poyser and Glenn Standridge | "Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)" | Brown Sugar | [3] | |
| Beyoncé | Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo and Beyoncé | "Work It Out" | Austin Powers in Goldmember | ||
| Bow Wow, Jermaine Dupri, Fabolous and Fundisha | Jimmy Bralower, Robert Ford, Full Force, James B. Moor, Kurtis Blow, Shirley Walker and William Waring | "Basketball" | Like Mike | ||
| Bootsy Collins, Snoop Dogg, Mr. Kane, Quaze and Fred Wesley | George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Jerome Brailey, Snoop Dogg and Quazedelic | "Undercova Funk (Give Up the Funk)" | Undercover Brother | ||
| Angie Stone | Angie Stone, Homer Talbert and Herscholt Polk | "Bring Me Your Heart" | Brown Sugar | ||
| 2004 | |||||
| Beyoncé and Walter Williams Sr. | Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis and Big Jim Wright | "He Still Loves Me" | The Fighting Temptations | [4] | |
| Amerie and LL Cool J | Norma Jean Wright, Allan Wayne Felder, Kenneth Burke, LL Cool J, Poke (as Jean Claude Olivier), Tone (as Samuel Barnes), Amerie and 50 Cent | "Paradise" | Deliver Us from Eva | ||
| Joe Budden | Joe Budden, Justin Smith, George Funky Brown, Robert Kool Bell, Ronald Bell, Robert Spike Mickens, Claydes Smith, Richard Westfield, Dennis 'Dee Tee' Thomas | "Pump It Up" | 2 Fast 2 Furious | ||
| Ludacris | Ludacris (as Christopher Bridges), Keith McMasters | "Act a Fool" | |||
| Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur | Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., Eminem, Luis Resto, Edgar Winter | "Runnin' (Dying to Live)" | Tupac: Resurrection | ||
| 2005–06 | — | ||||
| 2007 | |||||
| Jennifer Hudson | Henry Krieger and Tom Eyen | "And I'm Telling You (I'm Not Going)" | Dreamgirls | [5] | |
| Beyoncé | Henry Krieger, Scott Cutler, Beyoncé, and Anne Preven | "Listen" | Dreamgirls | ||
| Jennifer Hudson | Henry Krieger and Tom Eyen | "I Am Changing" | |||
| Lyfe Jennings and Alicia Keys | Curtis Mayfield | "People Get Ready" | Glory Road | ||
| OutKast | Andre Benjamin | "Idlewild Blue (Don'tchu Worry 'Bout Me)" | Idlewild | ||
| 2008 | — | ||||
| Year | Artist | Writers | Song | Film | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | |||||
| Anika Noni Rose | Randy Newman | "Almost There" | The Princess and the Frog | [6] | |
| De'Adre Aziza, Daniel Breaker and Stew | Stew | "Keys" | Passing Strange | ||
| Mary J. Blige | Mary J. Blige, Ne-Yo & Chuck Harmon | "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" | I Can Do Bad All By Myself | ||
| Ne-Yo | Ne-Yo | "Never Knew I Needed" | The Princess and the Frog | ||
| Anika Noni Rose | Randy Newman | "Down in New Orleans" | |||
| 2011 | |||||
| John Legend | John Legend | "Shine" | Waiting for "Superman" | [7] | |
| Justin Bieber and Jaden Smith | Adam Messinger, Nasri, Justin Bieber, Kuk Harrell (as Thaddis Harrell), Jaden Smith and Omarr Rambert | "Never Say Never" | The Karate Kid | ||
| Jay Z, Rihanna and Kanye West | Shawn Carter,Kanye West, Robyn Fenty, Ernest Wilson, Jeff Bhasker, Athanasios Alatas | "Run This Town" | Brooklyn's Finest | ||
| Queen Latifah | Andre Lyon, Queen Latifah , Jazmine Sullivan and Marcello Valenzano | "Champion" | Just Wright | ||
| Leona Lewis | Greg Barnhill, Joanna Cotten and Melissa Manchester | "I Know Who I Am" | For Colored Girls | ||
| 2012 | |||||
| Mary J. Blige | Mary J. Blige, Thomas Newman, Harvey Mason Jr. and Damon Thomas | "The Living Proof" | The Help | [8] | |
| Nicole Beharie | Scott Jacoby, Stefan C. Schaefer & Chris Silber | "My Last Day Without You" | My Last Day Without You | ||
| Jamie Foxx | Siedah Garrett | "Fly Love" | Rio | ||
| Cee-Lo Green and Kenny Wayne Shepherd | R.L. Burnside | "Walkin' Blues" | Footloose | ||
| Ludacris and Slaughterhouse | Ryan Montgomery, Crooked I, Eminem, Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz, Ludacris, Mr. Porter, Tony "56" Jackson, Claret Jai, Luis Resto | "Furiously Dangerous" | Fast Five | ||
| 2013 | |||||
| John Legend | John Legend | "Who Did That to You?" | Django Unchained | [9] | |
| Travis Barker, Tom Morello, Raekwon and RZA | Travis Barker, Tom Morello, Raekwon and RZA | "Carry It" | The Man with the Iron Fists | ||
| Whitney Houston and Jordin Sparks | R. Kelly | "Celebrate" | Sparkle | ||
| Jay Z, Frank Ocean and Kanye West | Kanye West, Jay-Z (as Shawn Carter), Mike Dean, Charles Njapa, Gary Wright, Phil Manzanera, James Brown, Joseph Maloy Roach, The-Dream (as Terius Nash), Frank Ocean | "No Church in the Wild" | Safe House | ||
| John Legend and Ludacris | John Legend, Allen Arthur, Ludacris, Clayton Reilly, Keith Justice, and Miguel | "Tonight (Best You Ever Had)" | Think Like a Man | ||
| 2014 | |||||
| Judith Hill | Judith Hill | "Desperation" | 20 Feet from Stardom | [10] | |
| Fantasia Barrino | Keith McMasters, Fantasia Barrino, Ricco Barrino, and Abel Terry | "In the Middle of the Night" | The Butler | ||
| Alicia Keys | Alicia Keys | "Queen of the Field (Patsey's Song)" | 12 Years a Slave | ||
| Gladys Knight | Lenny Kravitz | "You & I Ain't No More" | The Butler | ||
| Pharrell Williams | Pharrell Williams | "Happy" | Despicable Me 2 | ||
| 2015 | |||||
| Common and John Legend | Common, John Legend & Rhymefest | "Glory" | Selma | [11] | |
| Eliza Colby and Questlove | Eliza Colby & Questlove | "It Ain't Easy" | Top Five | ||
| Alicia Keys and Kendrick Lamar | Pharrell Williams, Alicia Keys, Hans Zimmer and Kendrick Lamar | "It's On Again" | The Amazing Spider-Man 2 | ||
| Janelle Monáe | Janelle Monáe, Nate 'Rocket' Wonder and Roman GianArthur Irvin | "What is Love" | Rio 2 | ||
| Rita Ora | Diane Warren | "Grateful" | Beyond the Lights | ||
| 2016 | |||||
| Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth | DJ Frank E, Andrew Cedar, Charlie Puth, Wiz Khalifa | "See You Again" | Furious 7 | [12] | |
| Jhené Aiko, Childish Gambino and Vince Staples | Ludwig Göransson, Ryan Coogler, Vince Staples and Donald Glover | "Waiting for My Moment" | Creed | ||
| Dr. Dre | Dr. Dre, Slim the Mobster, Mario Johnson, Russell Brown | "Talking to My Diary" | Straight Outta Compton | ||
| Tessa Thompson | Ludwig Göransson, Sam Dew and Tessa Thompson | "Grip" | Creed | ||
| The Weeknd | The Weeknd, Stephan Moccio, DaHeala, Belly | "Earned It" | Fifty Shades of Grey | ||
| 2017 | |||||
| Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings | Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings | "I'm Still Here" | Miss Sharon Jones! | [13] | |
| Common and Bilal | Common, Karriem Riggins & Robert Glasper | "A Letter to the Free" | 13th | ||
| Alicia Keys | Alicia Keys, Illangelo, Billy Walsh | "Back to Life" | Queen of Katwe | ||
| John Legend | John Legend | "Start" | Southside with You | ||
| Lalah Hathaway and Pharrell Williams | Pharrell Williams | "Surrender" | Hidden Figures | ||
| 2018 | |||||
| Mary J. Blige | Mary J. Blige, Raphael Saadiq & Taura Stinson | "Mighty River" | Mudbound | [14][15] | |
| Kortnee Price | Jypsy Nichols, Jeff Paige, Bobby Huntley & Nikki Wade | "Best of Me" | La Vie Magnifique De Charlie | ||
| Cynthia Erivo | Raphael Saadiq, Taura Stinson & Laura Karpman | "Jump" | Step | ||
| Common and Andra Day | Dianne Warren & Common | "Stand Up for Something" | Marshall | ||
| Phonte and Zo! | Phonte & Zo! | "Starlight" | Zo! Making SkyBreak | ||
| 2019 | |||||
| Kendrick Lamar & SZA | Kendrick Lamar, Sounwave, Al Shux and SZA | "All the Stars" | Black Panther | ||
| Jennifer Hudson | Diane Warren | "I’ll Fight" | RBG | ||
| Khalid & Normani | Khalid, Normani, Ryan Vojtesak, Tayla Parx and Jamil Chammas | "Love Lies" | Love, Simon | ||
| The Weeknd & Kendrick Lamar | The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar, Frank Dukes and Doc McKinney | "Pray for Me" | Black Panther | ||
| Arlissa | Jessica Karpov, Kevin White and Mike Woods | "We Won’t Move" | The Hate U Give |
| Year | Artist | Writers | Song | Film | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | |||||
| Tiana Major9 and EarthGang | Olu Fann, Sonyae Elise, Stacy Barthe, Benny Cassette, Sam Barsh, Kaveh Rastegar, Akil King, and Joshua Lopez | "Collide" | Queen & Slim | [16] | |
| Lauryn Hill | Lauryn Hill | "Guarding the Gates" | Queen & Slim | ||
| Robert Glasper and Ledisi | Robert Glasper | "Don’t Turn Back Now" | The Apollo | ||
| Beyoncé | Ilya Salmanzadeh, Labrinth, and Beyoncé | "Spirit" | The Lion King | ||
| Gizzle and Sam Fischer | Gizzle, Mike Sabath, and Sam Fischer | "It’s Not Over" | Brian Banks | ||
| 2021 | |||||
| Leslie Odom Jr. | Leslie Odom Jr. & Sam Ashworth | "Speak Now" | One Night in Miami... | [17] | |
| H.E.R. | H.E.R., Tiara Thomas & D'Mile | "Fight for You" | Judas and the Black Messiah | ||
| Anika Noni Rose & Forest Whitaker | John Legend | "Make It Work" | Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey | ||
| Radha Blank | Radha Blank | "Poverty Porn" | The Forty-Year-Old Version | ||
| Andra Day | Andra Day, Raphael Saadiq | "Tigress & Tweed" | The United States vs. Billie Holiday | ||
| 2022 | |||||
| H.E.R. | H.E.R., Van Hunt, Brittany Hazzard | "Automatic Woman" | Bruised | [18] | |
| Beyoncé | Beyoncé & DIXSON | "Be Alive" | King Richard | ||
| Jay-Z & Kid Cudi | Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Kid Cudi & Jeymes Samuel | "Guns Go Bang" | The Harder They Fall | ||
| Koffee | Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter & Jeymes Samuel | "The Harder They Fall" | The Harder They Fall | ||
| Jennifer Hudson | Jennifer Hudson, Carole King & Jamie Hartman | "Here I Am (Singing My Way Home)" | Respect | ||
| 2023 | |||||
| Rihanna | Rihanna, Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Göransson and Tems | "Lift Me Up" | Black Panther: Wakanda Forever | ||
| Rihanna | Rihanna, The-Dream, Ludwig Göransson and James Fauntleroy | "Born Again" | Black Panther: Wakanda Forever | ||
| Jessy Wilson and Angélique Kidjo | Jesy Wilson, Angélique Kidjo and Jeremy Lutito | "Keep Rising" | The Woman King | ||
| Ruth B | Ruth B. and Terence Blanchard | "Paper Airplanes" | A Jazzman's Blues | ||
| Jazmine Sullivan | Jazmine Sullivan and D'Mile | "Stand Up" | Till | ||
| 2022 | Halle Bailey and Phylicia Pearl Maspi | Halle Bailey, Denisia Andrews, Brittany Coney and Morten Ristorp | "Keep It Movin" | The Color Purple | |
| Metro Boomin, ASAP Rocky and Roisee | Leland Tyler Wayne, Roisee, Rakim Mayers, Mike Dean, Peter Lee Johnson and Landon "Script" Wayne | "Am I Dreaming" | Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse | ||
| Jon Batiste | "It Never Went Away" | American Symphony | |||
| Beyoncé | Beyoncé Knowles and The-Terius "The-Dream" Adamu Ya Gesteelde-Diamant | "MY HOUSE" | Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé | ||
| Lenny Kravitz | "Road to Freedom" | Rustin | |||
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