Diane Warren is ‘the song whisperer.’ Could 2025 be the year she finally wins an Oscar?

Songwriter Diane Warren has been nominated for an Oscar 15 times, but has never won. She could be looking at a 16th nomination in the coming days as her new documentary arrives in theaters.

Diane Warren: Relentless, directed by Bess Kargman, gives viewers an inside look into one of the most prolific and accomplished American songwriters of all time. While the Southern California-born artist is known for writing hits like Cher’s “If I Could Turn Back Time,” Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” and Toni Braxton’s “Un-Break My Heart,” she has the bittersweet distinction of being the most-nominated and least-winning songwriter at the Academy Awards. (Warren received an honorary Oscar in 2022.)

Her latest song “The Journey,” which is sung by H.E.R. and appears in Tyler Perry’s film The Six Triple Eight, has officially been shortlisted for Best Original Song at the 97th Academy Awards, with nominations to be announced Jan. 19.

“Isn’t this crazy that here’s a documentary about the journey of my life, [and] a song from a different movie, ‘The Journey,’ just got shortlisted,” Warren told Yahoo Entertainment one day after the Oscars shortlist was released.

“I’m so excited about that, by the way, because [I’m] hoping for nomination 16, and I’ve lost 15 times,” she added. “But you never really lose, because being nominated is a pretty big deal.”

After many years of misses, the songwriter stressed she’s not “jaded.”

“I was on pins and needles almost, waiting for the shortlist,” she said, “and I just get excited like it’s the first time.”

The Grammy, Emmy and Golden Globe winner always loved music growing up but never wanted to be a singer. When she was 8 or 9, she said she saw the songwriters’ names on records and was instantly hooked.

“First of all, I’m not a very good singer. So even if I wanted to, no one wants to hear me sing. But I just wanted to be behind the scenes. I wanted to be that person writing the songs,” she said. “That was before I’d even written a song. That’s what’s so crazy.”

Following many false starts and clashes with her mother, who wanted her to be a secretary, Warren found herself writing songs, recording demo tapes and eventually breaking through with her 1983 song “Solitaire,” sung by Laura Branigan.

Since then, the songwriter has seen consistent, decades-long success, turning out pop chart-toppers in a variety of styles, with her songs having been featured in more than 150 films. Warren is also the sole owner of her music publishing company Realsongs, and her catalog is estimated to be worth half a billion dollars.

“Some people call me the song whisperer,” she said.

In the documentary, artists including Cher, Common, LeAnn Rimes and Jennifer Hudson attest to Warren being, well, relentless. She’s shown as not taking “no” for an answer, whether it’s with executives or singers who might not think a song is for them.

Part of her pitch is believing in her songs. Even having composed hundreds of tunes, the film often captures her saying that “this song” is “the best” or “one of the best” she’s ever written.

With so many artists on her contacts list, she often just dials them up when she thinks she has a banger that best suits them.

“It’s casting. It’s finding that right artist for that song,” she said. “I love having meetings with artists and then finding that perfect song for them. And I really have to meet with them to really know.”

Take Gwen Stefani, she said, who came over last year.

“I started playing this riff of one of my songs on the guitar, and she’s like, ‘What’s that?’ And I go, ‘Oh, wow, that’s my song, “All Your Fault.” That’s a f***ing great song for you,’” Warren explained. “I played it for her, and she loved it. And she ended up just releasing it on her album a couple weeks ago.”

In addition to glimpses of her Los Angeles-area childhood home (which she revisits and walks through, playing a song outside her old bedroom window), the documentary delves into personal struggles, her Asperger’s diagnosis and even her love life, something that has caused speculation since Warren hasn’t been tied to anyone publicly.

“I’m not a heartbreaker,” she said. “I don’t really want to be in a relationship with anybody — except my cat.”

The film briefly touches on one relationship Warren had with music producer Guy Roche. They reunite for a project, and in a room full of others, he reveals that he would have had children with her — something Warren responds to with “Eww.”

“Eww, I’d say it again,” Warren said. “Not about him. The kids wouldn’t be my thing. I have song babies all the time.”

Along with those babies, her late cat Mouse appears in the film, which also featured her animal sanctuary in Malibu — a place Warren noted this week was safe after devastating wildfires destroyed her beach house in the area.

Kargman, who directed the film, told Yahoo Entertainment that she didn’t want to just show a songwriter “who’s talented and brilliant.”

“That’s the story of someone who already made it, right? How about their journey to making it, like the climb?” she explained. “Because everyone starts as a nobody, right? It’s a constant journey.”

As Warren’s latest journey gets closer to the Oscar nominations, she doesn’t “take any of this for granted.”

“I’m super proud of the song. I think it’s one of my best, best songs I’ve ever written,” she said.

Diane Warren: Relentless is in theaters now and starts streaming Jan. 16 on MasterClass.

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