Lily Allen, Olivia Dean and Wolf Alice are among some of the musicians nominated for this year’s Ivor Novello Awards.
Other acts in the running include Lola Young, Florence + The Machine, CMAT, Little Simz, Coldplay, Damon Albarn, Jacob Alon, Self Esteem, Jim Legxacy and Kae Tempest – who is nominated twice for best contemporary song.
The Ivors recognise British and Irish musical achievement in songwriting and composition, and also celebrate a number of singer-songwriters and groups for their wider contribution to UK music.
Olivia Dean, pictured on stage during this year’s Brit Awards, is nominated for an Ivor for the first time. Pic: Reuters
In the best album category, Allen is nominated for her “punchy and forthright” West End Girl, Jim Legxacy for the “bold and genre-traversing” black british music, and Dean for her “divine sophomore” The Art Of Loving. They are up against Wolf Alice‘s fourth album The Clearing and Irish-star CMAT’s EURO-COUNTRY.
Shortlisted composers also include writers for Oscar-nominated scores including this year’s Bugonia and last year’s The Brutalist, as well as soundtracks for hit TV shows including Adolescence.
While most of the gongs recognise the best songwriting of the past 12 months, the PRS For Music prize celebrates songs that received the most broadcast, online and general performances.
Lola Young at The Ivors in 2025. Pic: Ian Gavan/Hogan Media/Shutterstock/Ivors
So as well as 2025 hits including Man I Need, by Dean, there are also older songs in the running – Messy by Lola Young, Stargazing by Myles Smith, and The Days by Chrystal, which were released in 2024 – and even further back, Coldplay’s 2008 track Viva La Vida, following the band’s global tour.
Some 61 individual British and Irish songwriters and composers, and their international collaborators, have been nominated in total – with 34, more than half, in the running for the first time, including Dean and Alon.
Self Esteem was honoured with the visionary award in 2025. Pic: Reuters/Toby Melvi
Tom Gray, chair of The Ivors Academy, congratulated the nominees and said in a statement: “To be recognised by your peers for exceptional craft and originality at The Ivors is one of the greatest honours in music writing.”
The awards ceremony takes place in London on 21 May. Here is the full list of nominees.
BEST ALBUM
black british music – written by Jim Legxacy and Joe Stanley, performed by Jim Legxacy
EURO-COUNTRY – written and performed by CMAT
The Art Of Loving – written by Olivia Dean, Bastian Langebaek and Max Wolfgang, performed by Olivia Dean
The Clearing – written by Joff Oddie and Ellie Rowsell, performed by Wolf Alice
West End Girl – written by Lily Allen, Chloe Angelides, Kito and Blue May, performed by Lily Allen
CMAT, aka Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, at the 2024 ceremony. Pic: Reuters/Maja Smiejkowska
BEST CONTEMPORARY SONG
Damascus – written by Damon Albarn, Yasiin Bey and Omar Souleyman, performed by Gorillaz featuring Omar Souleyman and Yasiin Bey
Free – written by Alex Bonfanti, Miles Clinton James and Little Simz, performed by Little Simz
I Do And I Don’t Care – written by Johan Hugo and Self Esteem, performed by Self Esteem
I Stand On The Line – written by Fraser T Smith and Kae Tempest, performed by Kae Tempest
Know Yourself – written by Tom Rowlands, Fraser T Smith and Kae Tempest, performed by Kae Tempest
BEST SONG MUSICALLY AND LYRICALLY
Don’t Fall Asleep – written and performed by Jacob Alon
Everybody Scream – written by Mark Bowen, Mitski and Florence Welch, performed by Florence + The Machine
Focus Is Power – written by Johan Hugo, Self Esteem and Jacob Vetter, performed by Self Esteem
The Sofa – written by Ellie Rowsell, performed by Wolf Alice
Weeds – written by Tove Burman, Anya Jones and Jon Shave, performed by Sugababes
Chris Martin on stage during Coldplay’s Music Of The Spheres world tour in January 2025. Pic: AP/Rajanish Kakade
PRS FOR MUSIC MOST PERFORMED WORK
Man I Need – written by Olivia Dean, Tobias Jesso Jr. and Zach Nahome, performed by Olivia Dean
Messy – written and performed by Lola Young
Stargazing – written by Peter Fenn, Jesse Fink and Myles Smith, performed by Myles Smith
The Days – written and performed by Chrystal
Viva La Vida – written by Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion and Chris Martin, performed by Coldplay
RISING STAR AWARD
Chloe Qisha
Divorce
Jacob Alon
Kwn
Skye Newman
Emma Stone as Michelle in Bugonia – the film’s score is among this year’s Ivor nominees. Pic: Atsushi Nishijima/Focus Features
BEST ORIGINAL FILM SCORE
Bugonia – composed by Jerskin Fendrix
Dragonfly – composed by Raffertie
Nosferatu – composed by Robin Carolan
Testimony – composed by Tom Hodge
The Brutalist – composed by Daniel Blumberg
BEST TELEVISION SOUNDTRACK
Adolescence – composed by Aaron May and David Ridley
Lazarus – composed by Sarah Warne
Summerwater – composed by Gazelle Twin
This City Is Ours – composed by Rael Jones
Trespasses – composed by David Holmes and Brian Irvine