Wicked Composer Stephen Schwartz and Demon Hunters composer Mark Sonnenblick are set to face off at the upcoming Oscars.
At the beginning of 2025, Schwartz and Sonnenblick had a mentor-mantee relationship, which has now developed into a friendly rivalry.
The two met at ASCAP’s founding musical theater workshop, where Schwartz, an Academy Award winner with scores from Wicked, divine fateAnd Pippin apple helped Sonnenblick in his work.
Now, both are on the Oscar shortlist for Best Original Song and have earned Golden Globe nominations, pitting their tracks against each other.
Schwartz has written two new original songs for Villain: for goodby Cynthia Erivo No place like home and that of Ariana Grande The girl in the bubble.
During this time, Sonnenblick co-wrote Golden, the hit Demon Hunters K-pop. The song spent weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Previously, Schwartz revealed his reaction after earning two Golden Globe nominations for his songs.
He revealed that he had forgotten about the Golden Globes until he received a text from director Jon M. Chu congratulating him on his two nominations.
“I obviously couldn’t think of anyone better than me to get the news from,” Schwartz said.
Sonnenblick has not made any public statements regarding his stance against his mentor.
The Golden Globe Awards will air on January 11, 2026, while the Oscars will air live on March 15, 2026.
