The nominations for the 2026 Ivor Novello Awards have been announced, with Wolf Alice, Lily Allen, Olivia Dean and CMAT among those up for awards. See the full list below.
The nominees were announced today (March 24) across seven different categories, with 61 different songwriters and composers in total being nominated.
This year’s ceremony is once again in partnership with Amazon Music, and will take place at London’s Grosvenor House on May 21. In the meantime, you can check out The Ivors 2026 playlist, which spans pop, indie and experimental corners of British and Irish songwriting, on Amazon Music.
Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rowsell, Olivia Dean, Jacob Alon, Self Esteem (with co-writer Johan Hugo) and Kae Tempest (with co-writer Fraser T Smith) have all received two nominations apiece. A total of 34 songwriters landed their first nomination this year – including Dean, Alon and Hugo.
Two-time winner Little Simz has picked up her fifth Ivor Novello nomination for her single ‘Free’ in Best Contemporary Song, while Damon Albarn is also up for the fifth time, in the same category for Gorillaz’s track ‘Damascus’, featuring Omar Souleyman and Yasiin Bey.
Lola Young, meanwhile, has received her fourth – her hit ‘Messy’ is up for PRS for Music Most Performed Work. And Florence Welch’s fourth nomination is for Florence + The Machine’s ‘Everybody Scream’ in the Best Song Musically and Lyrically category.
Allen has earned a third nod, for ‘West End Girl’ in the Best Album category, while Coldplay also earn their third nomination, this time for their single ‘Viva La Vida’ in the Most Performed Work category.
CMAT, meanwhile, has been nominated for the second time, and is up for Best Album with her latest LP ‘EURO-COUNTRY’. Joining CMAT and Allen in the category are Jim Legxacy for ‘Black British Music’, Dean for ‘The Art Of Loving’ and Wolf Alice for ‘The Clearing’.
Joining Gorillaz and Little Simz in the Best Contemporary Song category are Self Esteem with ‘I Do And I Don’t Care’ and Tempest with ‘I Stand On The Line’ and ‘Know Yourself’.
For Best Song Musically and Lyrically, Alon’s ‘Don’t Fall Asleep’, Self Esteem’s ‘Focus Is Power’, ‘The Sofa’ by Wolf Alice and ‘Weeds’ by Sugababes join Florence + The Machine.
In the PRS for Music Most Performed Work category, Dean’s ‘Man I Need’, Myles Smith’s ‘Stargazing’ and ‘The Days’ by Chrystal are up alongside ‘Messy’ and ‘Viva La Vida’.
For the Rising Star Award with Amazon Music, Alon is against Kwn, Divorce and Chloe Qisha.
The Ivor Novello Awards remain judged by fellow songwriters and composers and are the most prestigious celebration of songs and screen compositions. Previous winners have included the likes of all four Beatles, David Bowie, Adele, Bruce Springsteen, Amy Winehouse, Sting and Elton John.
Alongside Young, the winners last year also included huge names such as Brandon Flowers, Charli xcx, U2, Robbie Williams and Berwyn.
