Ivor Novello Awards announce 2026 nominations, including CMAT, Olivia Dean, Lily Allen and more • News • DIY Magazine

Nominations for the 2026 Ivor Novello Awards have been revealed, with Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rowsell, Olivia Dean, Jacob Alon, Self Esteem and co-writer Johan Hugo, and Kae Tempest and co-writer Fraser T Smith all leading the charge with two nominations each.

Widely recognised as a cultural benchmark for outstanding British and Irish songwriting (Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Dave, RAYE, and Amy Winehouse are all past winners), the Ivors are a peer-judged celebration of the craft and cultural impact of song composition - something that the Awards have highlighted as all the more important in today’s modern, AI-littered music landscape.

This year, for the ceremony’s 71st edition, 61 songwriters and composers have been nominated across seven categories, over half of which are first-time nominees.

Among the big-hitters are CMAT, Olivia Dean, Lily Allen, Wolf Alice, and Jim Legxacy, all of whom are contenders for the prestigious Best Album prize, while elsewhere, other hopefuls include Little Simz (Best Contemporary Song, for ‘Free’), Lola Young (Most Performed Work, for ‘Messy’), and Florence Welch (Best Song Musically and Lyrically, for ‘Everybody Scream’).

The 2026 Ivor Novello Awards will take place on Thursday 21st May at Grosvenor House, London. Remind yourself who won big last year and check out the full list of 2026 nominees below.

The Ivors 2026 nominations are:

Best Album
BLACK BRITISH MUSIC - Jim Legxacy and Joe Stanley
EURO COUNTRY - CMAT
THE ART OF LOVING - Olivia Dean, Bastian Langebaek and Max Wolfgang
THE CLEARING - Joff Oddie and Ellie Rowsell
WEST END GIRL - Lily Allen, Chloe Angelides, Kito and Blue May

Best Contemporary Song
DAMASCUS - Damon Albarn, Yasiin Bey and Omar Souleyman
FREE - Alex Bonfanti, Miles Clinton James and Little Simz
I DO AND I DON’T CARE - Johan Hugo and Self Esteem
I STAND ON THE LINE - Fraser T Smith and Kae Tempest
KNOW YOURSELF - Tom Rowlands, Fraser T Smith and Kae Tempest

Best Song Musically and Lyrically
DON’T FALL ASLEEP - Jacob Alon
EVERYBODY SCREAM - Mark Bowen, Mitski and Florence Welch
FOCUS IS POWER - Johan Hugo, Self Esteem and Jacob Vetter
THE SOFA - Ellie Rowsell
WEEDS - Tove Burman, Anya Jones and Jon Shave

Most Performed Work
MAN I NEED - Olivia Dean, Tobias Jesso Jr. and Zach Nahome
MESSY - Lola Young
STARGAZING - Peter Fenn, Jesse Fink and Myles Smith
THE DAYS - Chrystal
VIVA LA VIDA - Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion and Chris Martin

Rising Star Award
Chloe Qisha
Divorce
Jacob Alon
Kwn
Skye Newman

Best Original Film Score
BUGONIA - Jerskin Fendrix
DRAGONFLY - Raffertie
NOSFERATU - Robin Carolan
TESTIMONY - Tom Hodge
THE BRUTALIST - Daniel Blumberg

Best Television Soundtrack
ADOLESCENCE - Aaron May and David Ridley
LAZARUS - Sarah Warne
SUMMERWATER - Gazelle Twin
THIS CITY IS OURS - Rael Jones
TRESPASSES - David Holmes and Brian Irvine

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Tags: News, CMAT, Lily Allen, Olivia Dean