NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Song

This article lists the winners and nominees for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Song. The award was first given in 1972, before being retired until the 1996 ceremony. In 2017 the category was divided, honoring traditional and contemporary songs separately. Since its conception, Alicia Keys holds the record for most wins in this category with five.

Winners and nominees

Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.

1970s

Year	Artist	Song	Ref
1972
1972	Isaac Hayes	*"Theme from Shaft"*	^{[citation needed]}
1973 – 79	—

1990s

Year	Artist	Song	Ref
1990 – 95	—
1996
	Whitney Houston	"Exhale (Shoop Shoop)"	^[1]^[2]
	D'Angelo	"Brown Sugar"
	Coolio (featuring L.V.)	"Gangsta's Paradise"
	TLC	"Waterfalls"
	Michael Jackson	"You Are Not Alone"
1997
	R. Kelly	"I Believe I Can Fly"	^[3]^[4]
	Tracy Chapman	"Give Me One Reason"
	Fugees	"Killing Me Softly"
	Blackstreet (featuring Dr. Dre and Queen Pen)	"No Diggity"
	Toni Braxton	"Un-Break My Heart"
1998
	Boyz II Men	"A Song for Mama"	^{[citation needed]}
	Babyface	"Every Time I Close My Eyes"
	Erykah Badu	"On & On"
	En Vogue	"Don't Let Go (Love)"
	God's Property (featuring Kirk Franklin and Cheryl James)	"Stomp"
1999
	Kirk Franklin	"Lean on Me"	^[5]
	Aretha Franklin	"A Rose Is Still a Rose"
	K-Ci & JoJo	"All My Life"
	Lauryn Hill	"Doo Wop (That Thing)"
	Whitney Houston & Mariah Carey	"When You Believe"

2000s

Year	Artist	Song	Ref
2000
	Eric Benét (featuring Tamia)	"Spend My Life with You"	^{[citation needed]}
	Lauryn Hill	"Everything is Everything"
	Whitney Houston	"My Love Is Your Love"
	Lenny Kravitz	"Fly Away"
	Chanté Moore	"Chanté's Got a Man"
2001
2001	Yolanda Adams	"Open My Heart"	^{[citation needed]}
2002			^{[citation needed]}
	Alicia Keys	"A Woman's Worth"	^[6]
	Alicia Keys	"Fallin'"
	Jill Scott	"He Loves Me (Lyzel In E Flat)"
	Musiq Soulchild	"Love"
	Michael Jackson	"You Rock My World"
2003
	Kirk Franklin	"Brighter Day"	^{[citation needed]}
	India Arie	"Little Things"
	Erykah Badu (featuring Common)	"Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)"
	Mary J. Blige	"No More Drama"
	Missy Elliott	"Work It
2004
	Luther Vandross	"Dance with My Father"	^[7]^[8]
	Beyoncé (feat. Jay Z)	"Crazy in Love"
	Outkast	"Hey Ya!"
	Outkast	"The Way You Move"
2005
	Alicia Keys	"If I Ain't Got You"	^{[citation needed]}
	Jill Scott	"Golden"
	Usher (featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris)	"Yeah!"
2006
	Alicia Keys	"Unbreakable"	^{[citation needed]}
	Mariah Carey	"We Belong Together"
	Common	"Testify"
	Destiny's Child	"Stand Up for Love"
	Kanye West	"Diamonds from Sierra Leone"
2007
	India Arie	"I Am Not My Hair"	^{[citation needed]}
	Gnarls Barkley	"Crazy"
	Beyoncé	"Irreplaceable"
	Mary J. Blige	"Be Without You"
	John Legend	"Save Room"
2008
	Alicia Keys	"Like You'll Never See Me Again"	^{[citation needed]}
	India Arie	"Beautiful Flower"
	Mary J. Blige	"Just Fine"
	Rihanna (featuring Jay Z)	"Umbrella"
	Kanye West	"Stronger"
2009
	will.i.am	"Yes We Can"	^{[citation needed]}
	Beyoncé	"Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)"
	Jennifer Hudson	"Spotlight"
	Alicia Keys	"Superwoman"
	John Legend	"Green Light"

2010s

Year	Artist	Song	Ref
2010
	Mary Mary	"God in Me"	^{[citation needed]}
	Jamie Foxx (featuring T-Pain)	"Blame It"
	Jay Z (featuring Alicia Keys)	"Empire State of Mind"
	Maxwell	"Bad Habits"
	Maxwell	"Pretty Wings"
2011
	Fantasia	"Bittersweet"	^{[citation needed]}
	CeeLo Green	"Fuck You"
	Alicia Keys	"Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)"
	Maxwell	"Fistful of Tears"
	Sade	"Soldier of Love"
2012
	Kirk Franklin	"I Smile"	^{[citation needed]}
	Adele	"Someone Like You"
	Beyoncé	"Best Thing I Never Had"
	CeeLo Green (featuring Melanie Fiona)	"Fool for You"
	Jill Scott (featuring Anthony Hamilton)	"So in Love"
2013
	Whitney Houston and R. Kelly	"I Look to You"	^[9]
	Kem	"Be Mine for Christmas"
		"Glorify the King"
		"You're on My Mind"
	Bruno Mars	"Locked Out of Heaven"
2014
	John Legend	"All of Me"	^[10]
	Alicia Keys (featuring Maxwell)	"Fire We Make"
	Bruno Mars	"Treasure"
	Janelle Monáe (featuring Erykah Badu)	"Q.U.E.E.N."
	Robin Thicke (featuring T.I. and Pharrell Williams)	"Blurred Lines"
2015
	Alicia Keys	"We Are Here"	^[11]
	Beyoncé	"Pretty Hurts"
	Aloe Blacc	"The Man"
	Kendrick Lamar	"i"
	Usher	"Good Kisser"
2016
	Jill Scott	"Back Together"	^[12]
	Lauryn Hill	"Feeling Good"
	Seal	"Every Time I'm with You"
	Jazmine Sullivan	"Let It Burn"
	Charlie Wilson	"Goodnight Kisses"
2017
	Kim Burrell and Pharrell Williams	"I See Victory"	^[13]
	Anthony Hamilton	"Amen"
	Tamela Mann	"God Provides"
	Maxwell	"Lake by the Ocean"
	Solange	"Cranes in the Sky"
	Beyoncé (featuring Kendrick Lamar)	"Freedom"
	Common (featuring Bilal)	"Letter to the Free"
	Bruno Mars	"24K Magic"
	Sounds of Blackness (featuring High School for Recording Arts)	"Royalty"
	Beyoncé	Formation
2018
	Bruno Mars	"That's What I Like"	^[14]
	Ledisi	"High"
	MAJOR.	"Honest"
	John Legend	"Surefire" (Piano Version)
	Mary J. Blige	"U + Me (Love Lesson)"
	Kendrick Lamar	"HUMBLE."
	JAY-Z	"The Story of O.J."
	Mali Music	"Gonna Be Alright"
	Jazmine Sullivan x Bryson Tiller	"Insecure"
	SZA feat. Travis Scott	"Love Galore"
2019
	Ella Mai	"Boo'd Up"
	John Legend feat. BloodPop	"A Good Night"
	Bruno Mars feat. Cardi B	"Finesse (Remix)"
	Childish Gambino	"This Is America"
	H.E.R.	"As I Am"
	Toni Braxton	"Long as I Live"
	Andra Day	"Amen"
	MAJOR.	"Better With You In It"
	Leon Bridges	"Beyond"
	Tori Kelly feat. Kirk Franklin	"Never Alone"

2020s

Year	Artist	Song	Ref
2020
	Beyoncé	"Before I Let Go"	^[15]
	H.E.R.	"Hard Place"
	Lizzo	"Juice"
	Normani	"Motivation"
	Khalid	"Talk"
	Beyoncé	"Spirit"
	Fantasia	"Enough"
	Lizzo	"Jerome"
	Cynthia Erivo	"Stand Up"
	India Arie	"Steady Love"

Multiple wins and nominations

Wins

5 wins

Alicia Keys

3 wins

Beyoncé

2 wins

Nominations

10 nominations

Alicia Keys

9 nominations

Beyoncé

5 nominations

4 nominations

3 nominations

2 nominations

References

^ Snow, Shauna (22 February 1996). "5 Films Head Nominations for NAACP Image Awards". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
^ "The Crisis".
^ "1997 Image Award Winners". IMDb. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
^ "Billboard". 25 January 1997.
^ "The Crisis". December 1998.
^ "Alicia Keys up for Seven NAACP Image Awards". Archived from the original on May 9, 2014.
^ "2004 Image Award Winners". IMDb. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
^ "Outkast, Beyonce, R. Kelly Nominated for NAACP Image Awards". Archived from the original on 2020-09-23.
^ Couch, Aaron (February 1, 2013). "2013 Image Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
^ Couch, Aaron (February 22, 2014). "2014 Image Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
^ Washington, Arlene (February 6, 2015). "2015 Image Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
^ "2016 Image Winners". Variety. 6 February 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
^ Hipes, Patrick (December 13, 2016). "Ruth Negga, Angela Bassett and Taraji P. Henson nominated". Deadline. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
^ THR Staff (14 November 2017). "NAACP Image Awards: Full List of Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
^ Schaffstall, Katherine; Howard, Annie (February 22, 2020). "NAACP Image Awards: Lizzo Named Entertainer of the Year; 'Just Mercy,' 'Black-ish' Among Top Winners". The Hollywood Reporter.

[1] Snow, Shauna (22 February 1996). "5 Films Head Nominations for NAACP Image Awards". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 January 2017.

[2] "The Crisis".

[3] "1997 Image Award Winners". IMDb. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[4] "Billboard". 25 January 1997.

[5] "The Crisis". December 1998.

[6] "Alicia Keys up for Seven NAACP Image Awards". Archived from the original on May 9, 2014.

[7] "2004 Image Award Winners". IMDb. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[8] "Outkast, Beyonce, R. Kelly Nominated for NAACP Image Awards". Archived from the original on 2020-09-23.

[9] Couch, Aaron (February 1, 2013). "2013 Image Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[10] Couch, Aaron (February 22, 2014). "2014 Image Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[11] Washington, Arlene (February 6, 2015). "2015 Image Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[12] "2016 Image Winners". Variety. 6 February 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[13] Hipes, Patrick (December 13, 2016). "Ruth Negga, Angela Bassett and Taraji P. Henson nominated". Deadline. Retrieved January 2, 2017.

[14] THR Staff (14 November 2017). "NAACP Image Awards: Full List of Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 15 November 2017.

[15] Schaffstall, Katherine; Howard, Annie (February 22, 2020). "NAACP Image Awards: Lizzo Named Entertainer of the Year; 'Just Mercy,' 'Black-ish' Among Top Winners". The Hollywood Reporter.

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v t e NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Song
Song (1971–2015)	"Theme from Shaft" – Isaac Hayes (1971) No Award (1972–1994) "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" – Whitney Houston (1995) "I Believe I Can Fly" – R. Kelly (1996) "A Song for Mama" – Boyz II Men (1997) "Lean on Me" – Kirk Franklin (1998) "Spend My Life with You" – Eric Benét featuring Tamia (1999) "Open My Heart" – Yolanda Adams (2000) "A Woman's Worth" – Alicia Keys (2001) "Brighter Day" – Kirk Franklin (2002) "Dance with My Father" – Luther Vandross (2003) "If I Ain't Got You" – Alicia Keys (2004) "Unbreakable" – Alicia Keys (2005) "I Am Not My Hair" – India Arie (2006) "Like You'll Never See Me Again" – Alicia Keys (2007) "Yes We Can" – will.i.am (2008) "God in Me" – Mary Mary (2009) "Bittersweet" – Fantasia (2010) "I Smile" – Kirk Franklin (2011) "I Look to You" – Whitney Houston and R. Kelly (2012) "All of Me" – John Legend (2013) "We Are Here" – Alicia Keys (2014) "Back Together" – Jill Scott (2015)
Contemporary (2016–2019)	"Freedom" – Beyoncé featuring Kendrick Lamar (2016) "HUMBLE." – Kendrick Lamar (2017) "Boo'd Up" – Ella Mai (2018) "Before I Let Go" – Beyoncé (2019)
Traditional (2016–2019)	"I See Victory" – Kim Burrell and Pharrell Williams (2016) "That's What I Like" – Bruno Mars (2017) "Long as I Live" – Toni Braxton (2018) "Spirit" – Beyoncé (2019)
Soul/R&B (2020–present)	"Do It" – Chloe x Halle (2020) "Pick Up Your Feelings" – Jazmine Sullivan (2021) "Cuff It" – Beyoncé (2022) "ICU (Remix)" – Coco Jones featuring Justin Timberlake (2023)
Hip Hop/Rap (2020–present)	"Savage (Remix)" – Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé (2020) "Fye Fye" – Tobe Nwigwe featuring Fat Nwigwe (2021) "Hotel Lobby" – Quavo and Takeoff (2022) "Cobra" – Megan Thee Stallion (2023)
International (2020–present)	"Lockdown" – Original Koffee (2020) "Essence" – Wizkid featuring Tems and Justin Bieber (2021) "No Woman, No Cry" – Tems (2022) "Me & U" – Tems (2023)