Benj-Justin become youngest EGOT winners with 'Only Murder' Emmy win
What's the story
The 39-year-old songwriting duo, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul have achieved the coveted EGOT status after winning an Emmy on Sunday. Their original song Which of the Pickwick Triplets Did It?, co-written with Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman for Only Murders in the Building, earned them this honor at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards. They are now tied with fellow songwriter Robert Lopez, the youngest to win all four major American entertainment awards: Emmy, Grammy, Oscars, and Tony.
Achievements
Pasek and Paul's journey to EGOT status
Pasek and Paul's path to EGOT began with an Oscar win in 2017 for their original song City of Stars from Ryan Gosling-led film La La Land. Later that year, they won a Tony Award for the original score of Dear Evan Hansen. In 2018, they secured a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album for the stage musical's cast recording. With this latest Emmy win, they have become the first creative team to achieve EGOT status simultaneously.
Career highlights
Duo's successful collaborations and future projects
The duo, who met as freshmen at the University of Michigan, have also penned songs for A Christmas Story, The Musical, The Greatest Showman, and Spirited. They are currently working on Disney's upcoming live-action Snow White movie and Pharrell Williams's semi-autobiographical drama Atlantis. Both films are set for a 2025 release. Their Emmy-winning song was performed by Steve Martin in Season 3 of the Hulu series Only Murders, starring Selena Gomez.
Emmy competition
'Which of the Pickwick...?' triumphed over other nominees
The Emmy-winning composition Which of the Pickwick Triplets Did It? was part of a fictional Broadway musical in the show Only Murders in the Building. The song triumphed over other nominees including Girls5eva track The Medium Time by Sara Bareilles, True Detective: Night Country number No Use by John Hawkes, and The Tattooist of Auschwitz piece Love Will Survive by Kara Talve, Hans Zimmer, Walter Afanasieff, and Charlie Midnight.