It was a beautiful night to celebrate the art of motion pictures at the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday, March 15 – and the ASCAP family came out shining!

ASCAP members EJAE & Mark Sonnenblick, along with co-writers 24, Ido, Teddy Park and THEBLACKLABEL achieved a historic first when their megahit song “Golden” from KPOP Demon Hunters became the first ever K-pop song to win the Best Original Song Oscar. Said EJAE, “Growing up, people made fun of me for liking K-pop, but now everyone’s singing our song and all the Korean lyrics. I’m so proud. And I realized, the song, this award is not about success; it’s about resilience.” Backstage, Mark Sonnenblick added, “Part of the movie is about looking at someone who you have been taught to hate and to fear and starting to trust, maybe even love them. That’s part of what the movie is about. It’s not ‘I’m going up up up!’ It’s “We’re going up up up!’” EJAE, joined by ASCAP songwriter and fellow HUNTR/X member Rei Ami, belted out “Golden” in a showstopping performance midway through the show. Congratulations to this amazing creative team on their historic win. /p>

+EJAE talks songwriting at ASCAP Women Behind the Music 2025 
+Mark Sonnenblick discusses the process of writing “Golden” at the ASCAP Experience 2026

More magical Oscars moments for the ASCAP family rounded out the evening. During a moving In Memoriam tribute, ASCAP legend Barbra Streisand sang her 1974 Oscar winner “The Way We Were” – written by former ASCAP President Marilyn Bergman with her husband Alan Bergman and their collaborator Marvin Hamlisch – in memory of Robert Redford. The performance marked a meaningful full circle moment: Alan, who passed away in 2025, was one of the departed film industry greats included in the In Memoriam segment.

ASCAP members shone onstage during the performance of “I Lied to You” from Sinners, with Raphael Saadiq (one of the song’s writers), Shaboozey and Alice Smith joining a glittering ensemble to pay homage to an iconic scene from the film. 

Hats off to ASCAP composer Michael Bearden, who gorgeously shaped the sound of the entire ceremony as the Oscars music director.

And finally, congratulations to ASCAP member Ryan Coogler on winning his first Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Sinners. It was certainly a night to remember for the ASCAP family!