Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rowsell, Lily Allen and Olivia Dean lead nominations as The Ivors unveil 2026 shortlist

Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rowsell, Lily Allen and Olivia Dean are among the nominees at the 2026 Ivor Novello Awards.

Ellie earns two nominations for Wolf Alice’s latest work, Lily lands a Best Album nod for her comeback record West End Girl, and Olivia celebrates her first-ever Ivor nominations with recognition in both Best Album and PRS for Music Most Performed Work.

They’re joined by fellow double nominees Jacob Alon, Self Esteem and co-writer Johan Hugo, along with Kae Tempest and Fraser T Smith, who also pick up two nods each.

Little Simz continues her impressive run at The Ivors with her fifth career nomination, shortlisted for Best Contemporary Song with Free. She previously won Best Album in 2020 for Grey Area and Best Contemporary Song in 2022 for I Love You, I Hate You, alongside consecutive Best Album nominations in 2022 and 2023.

Lola Young earns her fourth nomination as Messy returns to the PRS for Music Most Performed Work category, while Damon Albarn collects his fifth career nod for Damascus in Best Contemporary Song — adding to two Songwriter of the Year wins and his 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award.

Florence Welch also features prominently, receiving her fourth nomination for Everybody Scream, co-written with Mitski and Mark Bowen, in the Best Song Musically and Lyrically category.

Coldplay’s enduring anthem Viva La Vida picks up its third nomination, once again appearing in the PRS for Music Most Performed Work category following the band’s huge global tour. CMAT and Myles Smith both celebrate their second nominations — CMAT for her acclaimed album EURO-COUNTRY, and Myles for his global hit Stargazing.

This year’s Best Album field spans a wide range of contemporary sounds, featuring Jim Legxacy’s black british music (2025), Olivia Dean’s The Art of Loving, Wolf Alice’s The Clearing, Lily Allen’s West End Girl, and CMAT’s EURO-COUNTRY.

Best Contemporary Song highlights innovation and originality, with nominations for Damon Albarn’s Damascus, Little Simz’s Free, Self Esteem’s I Do And I Don’t Care, and two tracks from Kae Tempest — Know Yourself and I Stand On The Line.

In Best Song Musically and Lyrically, the Academy recognises Jacob Alon’s Don’t Fall Asleep, Florence + The Machine’s Everybody Scream, Self Esteem’s Focus Is Power, Wolf Alice’s The Sofa, and Sugababes’ Weeds.

The PRS for Music Most Performed Work category honours the songs that dominated airplay and public performance over the past year, with nominations for Olivia Dean’s Man I Need, Lola Young’s Messy, Myles Smith’s Stargazing, Chrystal’s The Days, and Coldplay’s Viva La Vida.

The Rising Star Award with Amazon Music spotlights emerging talent, with this year’s shortlist featuring Chloe Qisha, Divorce, Jacob Alon, kwn and Skye Newman.

Winners will be announced at The Ivors with Amazon Music on 21 May 2026 at Grosvenor House, London.

An abridged list of the nominees:

Best Album

Jim Legxacy – Black British Music

CMAT – Euro Country

Olivia Dean – The Art of Loving

Wolf Alice – The Clearing

Lily Allen – West End Girl

Best Contemporary Song

Gorillaz feat. Omar Souleyman and Yasiin Bey – Damascus

Little Simz – Free

Self Esteem – I Do And I Don’t Care

Kae Tempest – I Stand On The Line

Kae Tempest – Know Yourself

Best Song Musically and Lyrically

Jacob Alon – Don’t Fall Asleep

Florence + The Machine – Everybody Scream

Self Esteem – Focus Is Power

Wolf Alice – The Sofa

Sugababes – Weeds

PRS for Music Most Performed Work

Olivia Dean – Man I Need

Lola Young – Messy

Myles Smith – Stargazing

Chrystal – The Days

Coldplay – Viva La Vida

Rising Star Award with Amazon Music

Chloe Qisha

Divorce

Jacob Alon

kwn

Skye Newman