Rosalía commended diverse songwriters in a heartfelt speech at the 2026 Ivor Novello Awards on Thursday night.
Amid the ceremony staged at Grosvenor House in London, the Spanish singer-songwriter was honoured with the International Songwriter of The Year prize.
Officials congratulated Rosalía for “pushing the boundaries of global songwriting and experimental pop,” with her fourth studio album, Lux.
“The thought of writing a fourth album terrified me. It took three years to write this record, despite the well-known and lurking possibility of being erased by others when you cease to feed this insatiable monster, better known for all of us as the music industry,” she told the crowd.
Rosalía went on to acknowledge the songwriters she learned from when she was studying music.
“(There are) countless outstanding writers which will not be recognised as they deserve because they aren’t middle-class white Europeans, whose upbringing has been sufficiently stable for them to turn a hint of talent into a successful career,” the 33-year-old continued. “Thank you for giving my music so much love, and this is a great surprise for me, honestly, in my best dreams I couldn’t imagine this. So, thank you.”
Other songwriters and composers to be feted at the event included the late George Michael, who was awarded the Fellowship of the Ivors Academy – one of the most prestigious honours in songwriting. Friend and Wham! bandmate, Andrew Ridgeley, collected the award on behalf of the Careless Whisper hitmaker.
In addition, the PRS for Music Icon Award was presented to Calvin Harris, Fraser T Smith and Kae Tempest won Best Contemporary Song for I Stand on the Line, and the Special International Award with Amazon Music was awarded to Linda Perry.
Best Song Musically and Lyrically was given to Jacob Alon for Don’t Fall Asleep, while Kano was recognised with the Visionary Award with Amazon Music.
Lola Young received the PRS for Music Most Performed Work award for her mega-hit Messy.
CMAT won Best Album for her third record, Euro-Country, and Lily Allen was honoured with the Outstanding Song Collection award.
The other big winners included Jacob Alon, who took home the Rising Star Award, Sam Fender, who was awarded Songwriter of the Year, and Thom Yorke, who was honoured with the Fellowship of the Ivors Academy.
Meanwhile, Elton John was presented with an Ivors Academy Honour in recognition of his outstanding work championing songwriters, composers, and creativity across the music industry.
The Rocket Man icon was also announced as the first-ever president of The Ivors Academy.
“The position is reserved for individuals who have reached the pinnacle of their songwriting or composing profession, and are committed to giving back by supporting the community and advancing the Academy’s mission to protect the future of music,” officials praised.
