Daniel Pemberton Wins Third World Soundtrack Award in Ghent

Daniel Pemberton won Film Composer of the Year at the World Soundtrack Awards in Ghent on Saturday, his third trophy from the ceremony after the top prize in 2021 and Discovery of the Year in 2014.

The British composer was honored for a run that includes "Project Hail Mary," "The Drama," "The Bad Guys 2" and "Masters of the Universe." For "Project Hail Mary," he experimented with wood, metal and glass, and drew inspiration from a friend's leaky faucet.

"It was a case of throwing every crazy idea we could into the score, but at the same time, it had to be really emotional," Pemberton said at a roundtable shortly before the closing ceremony. "I spent a lot of time trying to make people cry."

Who else won?

EJAE and songwriter Mark Sonnenblick took Best Original Song for "Golden," the chart-topping track from "KPop Demon Hunters." The song's credited writers are Kim Eun-jae, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo and Teddy Park; Huntrix performs it. The win adds to a haul that already includes an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, a Grammy and a David Guetta remix. The winners did not attend to collect.

Speaking to Variety last year, EJAE resisted categorization. "As an artist, I don't want myself to be boxed into being a 'K-pop' artist because I don't really view myself as a K-pop artist or a pop artist," she said. "I view myself as a songwriter of every genre."

The remaining honors:

• Television Composer of the Year: Jeff Russo — "Alien: Earth," "Cape Fear," "Citadel" (Season 2)
• Discovery of the Year: Hannah Peel — "Midwinter Break"
• Public Choice Award: Kevin Smithers — "Soy Frankelda"
• Game Music Award: Nicolas Garcia — "Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss"
• Belgian Film Composer of the Year (Powered by Sabam): Margaret Hermant — "A La Cara: Mallorca Confidencial"
• Best Original Composition by a Young Composer (Powered by Vienna Synchron Stage): Xabier Doural García
• Lifetime Achievement Award: Trevor Jones

How do you score a franchise legacy?

Russo's winning television work leaned on the legacies of Bernard Herrmann, James Horner and Jerry Goldsmith. For "Cape Fear," he incorporated themes from Herrmann's original 1962 score.

"That made my job both easier and much harder," Russo said. "I had to figure out how Herrmann writes harmonically so the two scores could sound sympathetic and live together."

On "Alien: Earth," he weighed Goldsmith's dread against Horner's militarism, lifting few specific themes — save a delayed horn motif from Goldsmith's original "Alien." "I thought it was fun [for franchise aficionados to recognize the easter egg]," Russo said. "We're all here to have fun, right?"

The closing gala, led by conductor Dirk Brossé and the Brussels Philharmonic, performed music by guest of honor Hildur Guðnadóttir and lifetime achievement recipient Trevor Jones, both present. The program drew on "28 Years Later: The Bone Temple," "Tár," "Joker," "The Dark Crystal," "The Last of the Mohicans" and "Notting Hill." At one point Guðnadóttir picked up her cello to accompany the orchestra onstage.

What does this change for the winners? Work, most immediately. Smithers is developing a new musical stop-motion feature with "Frankelda" directors Arturo and Roy Ambriz, and Peel is now scoring Netflix's series adaptation of "Assassin's Creed."

Whether the Ghent prize converts into film-music's bigger rooms remains untested — but Pemberton's third win in eleven years suggests the voters have settled on a favorite.

By Tom Whitfield