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LONDON (MARCH 25, 2026) — Today, The Ivors Academy announces the nominations for the71st Ivor Novello Awards, with winners to be presented at The Ivors with Amazon Music on Thursday, May 21 in London. Peer-judged by songwriters and composers, The Ivors are widely regarded as one of the most prestigious honors in music, celebrating the craft, originality and cultural impact of songs and screen compositions. At a time when questions around authorship and AI are reshaping the music landscape, The Ivors stand as a powerful affirmation of human creativity and the cultural value of songwriters.
Recognizing an outstanding year in British and Irish songwriting, this year’s nominees include globally acclaimed songwriters Olivia Dean, Lola Young, Lily Allen, Coldplay, CMAT and Florence + The Machine, alongside a new generation of rising songwriters shaping contemporary music.
This year, 61 individual British, Irish or UK-resident songwriters and composers, and their international collaborators (including songwriters from the US), have received nominations, with 34 receiving their first Ivor Novello nomination.
Among the leading nominees, Olivia Dean, Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rowsell, Jacob Alon, Self Esteem (with co-writer Johan Hugo), and Kae Tempest (with co-writer Fraser T Smith) each receive two nominations.
Little Simz picks up her fifth Ivor Novello nomination for “Free” in Best Contemporary Song, having previously won Best Album in 2020 and Best Contemporary Song in 2022.
Lola Young receives her fourth nomination, including recognition for her hit “Messy” in the Most Performed Work category. Damon Albarn also earns his fifth nomination for “Damascus,” having previously won Songwriter of the Year twice.
Lily Allen receives her third nomination with West End Girl, her first album in seven years, while Florence + The Machine are nominated for “Everybody Scream,” co-written with Mitski and Mark Bowen.
Coldplay’s global hit “Viva La Vida” receives another nomination in the Most Performed Work category, continuing its enduring worldwide impact following the band’s recent global tour.
CMAT and Myles Smith both receive their second nominations, recognized for EURO-COUNTRYand “Stargazing,” respectively.
Roberto Neri, Chief Executive of The Ivors Academy, said: “I want to congratulate these incredible nominees, whose work reflects the strength, diversity and global influence of British and Irish songwriting, which we are honoured to celebrate. An Ivor Novello Award has for over 70 years been the most prestigious recognition of excellence in music and I'd like to thank our judges for working hard to recognise this year’s nominees.”
Tom Gray, Chair of The Ivors Academy, said: “Congratulations to all the songwriters and composers nominated for this year’s Ivor Novello Awards. To be recognised by your peers for exceptional craft and originality at The Ivors is one of the greatest honours in music writing, and we look forward to celebrating their achievements at The Ivors with Amazon Music on 21 May.”
Since 1956, The Ivors have honored writers including Paul McCartney, Adele and Elton John, alongside American icons such as Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and Bill Withers. While the awards celebrate music written by British, Irish or UK-resident songwriters, American writers are also eligible when collaborating with an eligible co-writer.
Six categories are judged by established songwriters and composers from The Ivors Academy, honoring excellence in songcraft rather than sales or chart performance. One category, PRS for Music Most Performed Work, is data-based and recognizes the most performed song of the year using verified performance data.
Presented by The Ivors Academy, the leading professional association for songwriters and composers, the awards form part of a broader mission to protect, empower and celebrate music creators.
The Ivor Novello Award for Best Album celebrates exceptional songwriting craft, creativity and cohesion across the record as a whole. This year’s nominees see a range of spheres of contemporary music represented, including Jim Legxacy’s bold and genre-traversing black british music (2025), Olivia Dean’s divine sophomore The Art Of Loving, Wolf Alice’s sublime fourth album The Clearing, Lily Allen’s punchy and forthright West End Girl, and Irish-star CMAT’s excellent EURO-COUNTRY.
Celebrating innovation and outstanding originality in songwriting, Best Contemporary Song sees nominations for Damon Albarn – “Damascus” (featuring Omar Souleyman and Yasiin Bey), Little Simz – “Free”, Self Esteem – “I Do And I Don’t Care”, and a double nomination for Kae Tempest with both ‘Know Yourself’ and “I Stand On The Line”.
Best Song Musically and Lyrically acknowledges the outstanding craft, quality, coherence and creativity of the songwriting. Nominations this year go to Jacob Alon – “Don’t Fall Asleep”, Florence + The Machine - “Everybody Scream”, Self Esteem - “Focus Is Power”, Wolf Alice - “The Sofa” and Sugababes - “Weeds”.
The PRS for Music Most Performed Work category celebrates songs that received the most broadcast, online and general performances in the last year, based on PRS data. Nominations this year go to Olivia Dean - “Man I Need”, Lola Young - “Messy”, Myles Smith - “Stargazing”, Chrystal - “The Day’s” and Coldplay - “Viva La Vida”.
The Rising Star Award with Amazon Music celebrates British, Irish or UK resident songwriters who are at the tipping point of greatness. This prestigious co-sign this year goes to Chloe Qisha, Divorce, Jacob Alon, kwn, and Skye Newman. Past Rising Star nominees include PinkPantheress, Holly Humberstone and Rachel Chinouriri, with Lola Young winning the award in 2025.
Best Original Film Score recognises outstanding commissioned music that strengthens the storytelling, tone and emotional depth of a feature film. Together, these works amplify the essential role of original composition in elevating the art of film. This year’s nominees consist of Bugonia, composed by Jerskin Fendrix; Dragonfly, composed by Raffertie; Nosferatu, composed by Robin Carolan; Testimony, composed by Tom Hodge; and The Brutalist, composed by Daniel Blumberg.
Best Television Soundtrack celebrates exceptional originally commissioned music that enriches the storytelling and dramatic impact of television programmes in the UK in 2025. This year’s nominees are Adolescence, composed by Aaron May and David Ridley; Lazarus, composed by Sarah Warne; Summerwater, composed by Gazelle Twin; The City Is Ours, composed by Rael Jones; and Trespasses, composed by David Holmes and Brian Irvine. These works highlight the contribution and impact of original music in enhancing storytelling and television viewing.
Summerwater, composed by Gazelle Twin; The City Is Ours, composed by Rael Jones; and Trespasses, composed by David Holmes and Brian Irvine. These works highlight the contribution and impact of original music in enhancing storytelling and television viewing.
The award winners will be revealed at The Ivors with Amazon Music on May 21, 2026 at Grosvenor House, London. Alongside these nominations, Awards in the Gift of the Academy will be presented to recognize individuals for their lasting contributions to music.
You can listen to The Ivors 2026 playlist on Amazon Music HERE and watch the Ivors sizzle reel HERE.
Please find all nominations below and visit https://ivorsacademy.com/the-ivors/ for more information.
BEST ALBUM
BLACK BRITISH MUSIC (2025) written by Jim Legxacy and Joe Stanley
Performed by Jim Legxacy
Published in the UK by Sony Music Publishing and Kobalt Music Publishing
EURO COUNTRY written and performed by CMAT
Published in the UK by BMG Rights Management UK
THE ART OF LOVING written by Olivia Dean, Bastian Langebaek and Max Wolfgang
Performed by Olivia Dean
Published in the UK by Sony Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing obo Goldfish Records and Kobalt Music Publishing obo Alveron Music
THE CLEARING written by Joff Oddie and Ellie Rowsell
Performed by Wolf Alice
Published in the UK by Sony Music Publishing
WEST END GIRL written by Lily Allen, Chloe Angelides, Kito and Blue May
Performed by Lily Allen
Published in the UK by Sony Music Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing obo Chloe Angelides Publishing-Where Da Kasz At and BMG Rights Management UK
BEST CONTEMPORARY SONG
DAMASCUS written by Damon Albarn, Yasiin Bey and Omar Souleyman
Performed by Gorillaz feat. Omar Souleyman and Yasiin Bey
Published in the UK by Sony Music Publishing, Pop-Up Music Publishing and Domino Publishing Company
FREE written by Alex Bonfanti, Miles Clinton James and Little Simz
Performed by Little Simz
Published in the UK by Universal Music Publishing and Sony Music Publishing
I DO AND I DON’T CARE written by Johan Hugo and Self Esteem
Performed by Self Esteem
Music published in the UK by Warner Chappell Music and Reservoir Media Management obo Blue Raincoat Music Publishing
I STAND ON THE LINE written by Fraser T Smith and Kae Tempest
Performed by Kae Tempest
Music published in the UK by Warner Chappell Music and Domino Publishing Company
KNOW YOURSELF Written by Tom Rowlands, Fraser T Smith and Kae Tempest
Performed by Kae Tempest
Music published in the UK by BMG Rights Management UK, Warner Chappell Music and Domino Publishing Company
BEST SONG MUSICALLY AND LYRICALLY
DON’T FALL ASLEEP written and performed by Jacob Alon
Music published in the UK by Concord Music Publishing
EVERYBODY SCREAM written by Mark Bowen, Mitski and Florence Welch
Performed by Florence + The Machine
Music published in the UK by Kobalt Music Publishing, Warner Chappell Music obo Songs by Mitski Publishing and Universal Music Publishing obo Florence + The Machine Ltd
FOCUS IS POWER
Written by Johan Hugo, Self Esteem and Jacob Vetter
Performed by Self Esteem
Music published in the UK by Warner Chappell Music, Reservoir Media Management obo Blue Raincoat Music Publishing and Kobalt Music Publishing obo TruSauce Pub Co
THE SOFA written by Ellie Rowsell
Performed by Wolf Alice
Music published in the UK by Sony Music Publishing
WEEDS written by Tove Burman, Anya Jones and Jon Shave
Performed by Sugababes
Music published in the UK by Warner Chappell Music obo MXM Music and Kobalt Music Publishing obo Spirit Music Group
PRS FOR MUSIC MOST PERFORMED WORK
MAN I NEED written by Olivia Dean, Tobias Jesso Jr. and Zach Nahome
Performed by Olivia Dean
Music published in the UK by Sony Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing and Concord Music Publishing
MESSY written and performed by Lola Young
music published in the UK by Sony Music Publishing
STARGAZING written by Peter Fenn, Jesse Fink and Myles Smith
Performed by Myles Smith
Music published in the UK by Kobalt Music Publishing obo Songs by 308 Publishing-Where Da Kasz At, Lyric Global Copyright Services Crescendo obo Arcade Artists Publishing-Jesse Fink Publishing-Spirit One Music Crescendo and Sony Music Publishing
THE DAYS written and performed by Chrystal
Music published in the UK by Sony Music Publishing
VIVA LA VIDA written by Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion and Chris Martin
Performed by Coldplay
Music published in the UK by Universal Music Publishing
RISING STAR AWARD WITH AMAZON MUSIC
CHLOE QISHA
DIVORCE
Tiger Cohen-Towell, Felix Mackenzie-Barrow, Adam Peter-Smith and Kasper Sandstrøm
JACOB ALON
KWN
SKYE NEWMAN
BEST ORIGINAL FILM SCORE
BUGONIA composed by Jerskin Fendrix
Music published in the UK by Universal/MCA Music Ltd obo Focus-Gramercy Music
DRAGONFLY composed by Raffertie
Music published in the UK by Universal Music Publishing
NOSFERATU composed by Robin Carolan
Music published in the UK by Universal/MCA Music Ltd obo Focus-Gramercy Music
TESTIMONY composed by Tom Hodge
Music published in the UK by Bucks Music Group obo Rocliffe Ltd
THE BRUTALIST composed by Daniel Blumberg
Music published in the UK by Warner Chappell Music
BEST TELEVISION SOUNDTRACK
ADOLESCENCE composed by Aaron May and David Ridley
Music published in the UK by BMG Rights Management UK obo Maisie Anthems
LAZARUS composed by Sarah Warne
Music published in the UK by Universal/MCA Music Ltd obo Amazon Content Services
SUMMERWATER composed by Gazelle Twin
Music published in the UK by Sony Music Publishing and District 6 Music Publishing Ltd
THIS CITY IS OURS composed by Rael Jones
Music published in the UK by Sony Music Publishing obo Twenty Fifteen Avenue Music Inc
TRESPASSES composed by David Holmes and Brian Irvine
Music published in the UK by Sony Music Publishing obo All3media International
About The Ivors with Amazon Music
The Ivors Academy is the leading voice for songwriters and composers. As a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to supporting music writers, we protect their rights, empower them with the knowledge and tools they need to thrive, and celebrate their craft. Our commitment to excellence is celebrated annually through The Ivors with Amazon Music and The Ivors Classical Awards, recognising the outstanding contributions of songwriters and composers.
The Ivors Academy works to ensure that songwriters and composers are fairly compensated, and fully respected and supported throughout their careers. For more information visit www.ivorsacademy.com.
About Amazon Music
About Amazon Music Amazon Music is an immersive audio entertainment service that connects fans, artists, and creators through music, podcasts, and culture. Amazon Music brings fans closer to what they love, with curated and personalised playlists, artist livestreams, artist merch, and Amazon Exclusive podcasts. Prime members get access to over 100 million songs in shuffle mode, All-Access playlists, plus the largest catalogue of top ad-free podcasts, included with their membership. Customers can upgrade to Amazon Music Unlimited for full, on-demand access to 100 million songs in HD, a growing catalogue of Ultra HD and Spatial audio, and the world’s largest selection of audiobooks from Audible. Anyone can listen to Amazon Music by downloading the free Amazon Music app, or wherever they listen to music including Alexa-enabled devices. Learn more at http://amazon.co.uk/music.
See the songwriters and producers homepage on Amazon Music here.
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