Daveed Diggs and Christopher Lennertz earned a 2026 Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for writing the gospel track “Raise Him Up” from Prime Video’s fifth and final season of The Boys. The song features in the penultimate episode, performed by Diggs’s character, Oh Father.
For a series long considered one of the most overlooked shows by the Television Academy, the nod represents a win for the superhero satire.
The Bottom Line
- Daveed Diggs and Christopher Lennertz secured an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for “Raise Him Up” on The Boys Season 5.
- Lennertz previously won in the same category, while Diggs broke his own rule against performing musical numbers on screen.
- The track anchors the penultimate episode, featuring Diggs’s super-powered preacher character, Oh Father.
Breaking the Rule for a Super-Powered Grift
When showrunner Eric Kripke first approached Daveed Diggs about staging a musical number in the seventh episode of the final season, the response wasn’t an immediate yes. Diggs, famous for his Tony-winning dual performances in Broadway’s Hamilton, generally says no to musical numbers.
Yet, the pull of the Prime Video series proved too strong. Deciding he wanted the whole of The Boys experience, Diggs agreed to whatever they asked him to do—though he admitted he expected exploding heads and ball gags rather than a musical number.
According to interviews with Decider, Kripke pitched the idea sheepishly, giving the artist twenty-four hours to think about it. Diggs already knew his answer.
Crafting a Gospel Hit from Coast to Coast
The logistics of writing the gospel tune required cross-country collaboration. Christopher Lennertz operated out of Los Angeles, while Diggs was actively filming. Initial brainstorming sessions leaned toward a rap song.
That early direction hit a wall when Eric Kripke reviewed the initial demo. The showrunner immediately rejected it, arguing it was too cool and wrong for the character of Oh Father—a grifting preacher who believed the villainous Homelander, played by Antony Starr, should become America’s new god for financial gain.
Lennertz retooled the arrangement and sent back a version Diggs called brilliant. When it came time to record, Diggs did hundreds of takes, adding ad-libs and vocal choices before the sequence cuts between the musical number and the rehearsal.
Music and Lyrics Lineup for The Boys
Christopher Lennertz has worked on the franchise, with soundtrack releases featuring various tracks.
| Track Name | Artist / Performer | Context / Album Placement |
|---|---|---|
| “Raise Him Up” | Daveed Diggs, Christopher Lennertz, Baraka May, Caleb Curry, Kadeem Nichols, Carmen Carter, Alex Karukas | Season 5, Episode 7 (“The Frenchman, The Female, And The Man Called Mother’s Milk”) |
| “Never Truly Vanish” | Erin Moriarty | Muziker release |
| “Faster” | Jessie T. Usher, Aimée Proal | Muziker release |
| “Let’s Put the Christ Back in Christmas” | Shoshana Bean, Andrew Rannells, James Monroe Iglehart, Christopher Lennertz | Muziker release |
The Academy Finally Looks Up
The Television Academy has long considered the series one of its most overlooked, making this recognition for original music a moment for the production team. For Lennertz, who previously won in the same category, the nomination validates the work that goes into scoring the series.
As the series wraps up its fifth and final season, “Raise Him Up” blends Broadway talent with the satire of the property. Whether the track takes home the gold on Emmy night remains to be seen.
What do you think of The Boys finally breaking through with the Television Academy? Did “Raise Him Up” live up to your expectations for Oh Father’s grand finale? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.
