The winners of The Ivors with Amazon Music have been revealed at the 2026 awards ceremony held at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House in London.
The event recognises exceptional achievements in songwriting and screen composing. Now in its 71st year, 16 songwriters and composers collected Ivor Novello Awards across 14 categories, with 37% award recipients receiving recognition for the first time.
This year’s Songwriter Of The Year with Amazon Music was awarded to Sam Fender, following the success and cultural impact of his 2025 album, People Watching, which joined his previous two albums in topping the charts. Elton John presented the award to Fender.
John himself was the recipient of the Ivors Academy Honour in recognition of his work championing songwriters, composers and creativity across the music industry. The Ivors Academy also announced that he would become its first-ever president; a newly created role that will see John represent the Academy’s global community of songwriters and composers, advocating for the rights and recognition of music creators worldwide.
George Michael was awarded one of songwriting’s highest honours, Fellowship of the Ivors Academy, ten years after his death. Longtime friend and Wham! bandmate Andrew Ridgeley collected the award on behalf of Michael.
Roberto Neri, Elton Johh, Rosalía, Harry Styles and Tom Gray pose backstage at the Ivors 2026
The Special International Award with Amazon Music was awarded to Linda Perry. The 4 Non Blondes star has crafted a catalogue of era-defining pop songs, including Christina Aguilera’s Beautiful and Gwen Stefani’s What You Waiting For?
Speaking ahead of the ceremony, the Ivors Academy CEO Roberto Neri told Music Week that it was "a proper reflection on incredible songwriters that may or may not have had that opportunity before".
He continued: "We’re very proud to recognise Linda Perry this year, for example, and we've announced Rosalía, because the Ivors are now being better recognised globally. We've still got the same amount of awards recognising incredible British and Irish songwriters, but it made sense to expand on the international element and celebrate the incredible output Rosalía has given the world. She is exceptional as a songwriter, an exceptional performer, and deserves to pick up the Oscar in music, which is an Ivor Novello.”
CMAT won Best Album for her third record, Euro-Country, marking her first Ivor Novello win. The judges praised the album’s honesty, originality and highlighted in particular its ability to balance personal songwriting alongside political and cultural themes. Berwyn presented the award to CMAT.
Best Song Musically and Lyrically was awarded to Jacob Alon for Don’t Fall Asleep. The judges described the folk-infused track as “profoundly emotionally honest”.
Returning to the stage to receive their second award of the night, Alon was also named this year’s Rising Star Award winner, recognising the emergence of one of the UK’s most distinctive new songwriting voices.
Tonight stands as a reminder that the future of music is in remarkable hands
Roberto Neri
The Ivors Academy awarded Best Contemporary Song to Fraser T Smith and Kae Tempest for I Stand On The Line. This award marks Tempest’s second Ivor Novello Awards win and T Smith’s fourth. The track was recognised for giving voice to those “too often unheard” while balancing powerful social commentary.
Lola Young received the PRS for Music Most Performed Work award for Messy – one of the UK’s biggest breakout singles of 2025.
The PRS for Music Icon Award was presented to Calvin Harris, who has shaped the sound of contemporary dance and pop over the last two decades. Through collaborations with some of the world’s most influential artists, including Dua Lipa and Rihanna, Harris has established his place as one of the most impactful producers and songwriters of his generation. The award was presented on stage by long-time A&R, Mike Pickering.
Lola Young
Best Television Soundtrack was awarded to David Holmes and Brian Irvine for their score to the drama series Trespasses, marking the third time each has won an Ivor Novello Award.
Tom Hodge received the Ivor Novello Award for Best Original Film Score for Testimony.
The Ivors Academy recognised Kano for the Visionary Award with Amazon Music, highlighting his work over the last 20-plus years in music, helping shape the legacy of grime and much more. Dave presented Kano with the award.
The Ivors Academy awarded Lily Allen the Outstanding Song Collection award, having built one of the most distinctive catalogues in British music across the last two decades.
Rosalía was presented with International Songwriter of The Year following a breakthrough year with her experimental and successful album fourth album, Lux.
As the awards drew to a close, Thom Yorke received one of songwriting’s highest honours: Fellowship of the Ivors Academy. Regarded as one of the defining songwriters of his generation, Yorke is known for pushing the boundaries of alternative music through his work with Radiohead and across his solo career. Harry Styles presented Yorke with the award, saying he could not “overstate how much his work continues to influence me”.
Three performances on the night came from: Thom Yorke, who debuted a new song alongside Radiohead’s Jigsaw Falling Into Place; Jacob Alon, who played Don’t Fall Asleep; and Skye Newman, who performed Careless Whisper in tribute to Academy Fellow George Michael as well as her song, Woman I Am.
Roberto Neri, CEO, The Ivors Academy, said: “Congratulations to all our Ivor Novello Award winners. On a special night, it was a privilege to celebrate such an extraordinary range of music with the most prestigious recognition in music. The Ivors Academy exists to protect, empower and celebrate songwriters and composers, and whatever we face, tonight stands as a reminder that the future of music is in remarkable hands.”
Tom Gray, chair of The Ivors Academy, said: “Every nomination and award tonight is an act of attribution. A public, named, witnessed declaration that these astonishing human beings made these noteworthy, gorgeous, brilliant songs. That it came from somewhere and belongs to someone. They can be identified, credited, paid and celebrated. My heartfelt congratulations to all our winners.”
The 2026 winners join a roll of songwriting and composing greats who have received an Ivor Novello Award over the past seven decades including Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Adele, Raye, Stormzy, Cathy Dennis, Bruce Springsteen, Annie Lennox, Amy Winehouse, Dave, Sting and Joan Armatrading.
THE IVORS 2026 WINNERS:
BEST ALBUM
EURO-COUNTRY written and performed by CMAT
Music published in the UK by BMG Rights Management UK
BEST CONTEMPORARY SONG
I STAND ON THE LINE written by Fraser T Smith, written and performed by and Kae Tempest
Music published in the UK by Warner Chappell Music and Domino Publishing Company
BEST SONG MUSICALLY AND LYRICALLY
DON’T FALL ASLEEP written and performed by Jacob Alon
Music published in the UK by Concord Music Publishing
PRS FOR MUSIC MOST PERFORMED WORK
MESSY written and performed by Lola Young
Music published in the UK by Sony Music Publishing
RISING STAR AWARD WITH AMAZON MUSIC
Jacob Alon
BEST ORIGINAL FILM SCORE
TESTIMONY composed by Tom Hodge
Music published in the UK by Bucks Music Group Limited obo Rocliffe Limited and Underground Films Commissioning Limited
BEST TELEVISION SOUNDTRACK
TRESPASSES composed by David Holmes and Brian Irvine
Music published in the UK by Kobalt Music Publishing and Sony Music Publishing obo All3Media
ACADEMY FELLOWSHIP
George Michael
Thom Yorke
OUTSTANDING SONG COLLECTION
Lily Allen
PRS FOR MUSIC ICON AWARD
Calvin Harris
INTERNATIONAL SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Rosalía
SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR with AMAZON MUSIC
Sam Fender
SPECIAL INTERNATIONAL
Linda Perry
VISIONARY AWARD with AMAZON MUSIC
Kano
