In his acceptance speech, the composer recalled his beginnings in the music world. "My father bought his first blues record in Sweden in 1964. It was an album by John Lee Hooker... The music was so powerful that it changed my father's life, and he dedicated his life to music," he reminisced. "When I was 7 years old, he put a guitar in my hands, and this instrument opened many doors for me."
Ludwig Göransson had special words for the director of Los Pecadores (Sinners), with whom he had already worked successfully on Black Panther. "Music brought me to the United States and led me to one of the great storytellers of our time, Ryan Coogler. Ryan, thank you for your vision. Thank you for making a film that has resonated worldwide," he said.
Göransson's soundtrack for Sinners had already triumphed at the Critics Choice Awards, the Golden Globes, and the Grammys. He was also the only composer nominated for both Best Original Score and Best Original Song, a category he shared with Raphael Saadiq for I Lied to You, which was ultimately won by K-Pop Warriors for Golden.
This is the first time in this century that a composer has accumulated three statuettes, a record not seen for almost two decades and noteworthy for the youth of the laureate: Ludwig Göransson is 41 years old. The only other living winners of three Oscars for Best Original Score are John Williams, 94, who has won five Oscars for original score, and Alan Menken, 76, who has won four. The most recent was 30 years ago for Pocahontas.