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
