NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Song

Template:Short description 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"*	Template:Citation needed
1973 – 79	colspan="3" Template:N/a

1990s

Year	Artist	Song	Ref
1990 – 95	colspan="3" Template:N/a
1996
	Whitney Houston	"Exhale (Shoop Shoop)"	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	D'Angelo	"Brown Sugar"
	Coolio Template:Small	"Gangsta's Paradise"
	TLC	"Waterfalls"
	Michael Jackson	"You Are Not Alone"
1997
	R. Kelly	"I Believe I Can Fly"	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Tracy Chapman	"Give Me One Reason"
	Fugees	"Killing Me Softly"
	Blackstreet Template:Small	"No Diggity"
	Toni Braxton	"Un-Break My Heart"
1998
	Boyz II Men	"A Song for Mama"	Template:Citation needed
	Babyface	"Every Time I Close My Eyes"
	Erykah Badu	"On & On"
	En Vogue	"Don't Let Go (Love)"
	God's Property Template:Small	"Stomp"
1999
	Kirk Franklin	"Lean on Me"	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	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 Template:Small	"Spend My Life with You"	Template: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"	Template:Citation needed
2002			Template:Citation needed
	Alicia Keys	"A Woman's Worth"	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	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"	Template:Citation needed
	India Arie	"Little Things"
	Erykah Badu Template:Small	"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"	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Beyoncé Template:Small	"Crazy in Love"
	Outkast	"Hey Ya!"
	Outkast	"The Way You Move"
2005
	Alicia Keys	"If I Ain't Got You"	Template:Citation needed
	Jill Scott	"Golden"
	Usher Template:Small	"Yeah!"
2006
	Alicia Keys	"Unbreakable"	Template: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"	Template: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"	Template:Citation needed
	India Arie	"Beautiful Flower"
	Mary J. Blige	"Just Fine"
	Rihanna Template:Small	"Umbrella"
	Kanye West	"Stronger"
2009
	will.i.am	"Yes We Can"	Template: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"	Template:Citation needed
	Jamie Foxx Template:Small	"Blame It"
	Jay Z Template:Small	"Empire State of Mind"
	Maxwell	"Bad Habits"
	Maxwell	"Pretty Wings"
2011
	Fantasia	"Bittersweet"	Template: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"	Template:Citation needed
	Adele	"Someone Like You"
	Beyoncé	"Best Thing I Never Had"
	CeeLo Green Template:Small	"Fool for You"
	Jill Scott Template:Small	"So in Love"
2013
	Whitney Houston and R. Kelly	"I Look to You"	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	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"	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Alicia Keys Template:Small	"Fire We Make"
	Bruno Mars	"Treasure"
	Janelle Monáe Template:Small	"Q.U.E.E.N."
	Robin Thicke Template:Small	"Blurred Lines"
2015
	Alicia Keys	"We Are Here"	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Beyoncé	"Pretty Hurts"
	Aloe Blacc	"The Man"
	Kendrick Lamar	"i"
	Usher	"Good Kisser"
2016
	Jill Scott	"Back Together"	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	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"	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Anthony Hamilton	"Amen"
	Tamela Mann	"God Provides"
	Maxwell	"Lake by the Ocean"
	Solange	"Cranes in the Sky"
	Beyoncé Template:Small	"Freedom"
	Common Template:Small	"Letter to the Free"
	Bruno Mars	"24K Magic"
	Sounds of Blackness Template:Small	"Royalty"
	Beyoncé	Formation
2018
	Bruno Mars	"That's What I Like"	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Ledisi	"High"
	MAJOR.	"Honest"
	John Legend	"Surefire" Template:Small
	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"	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	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"