CMAT, Olivia Dean, and Lily Allen among artists nominated for The Ivors

The peer-judged award ceremony celebrates and recognises songwriting and composing, with the winners announced on May 21st.
CMAT, Olivia Dean, and Lily Allen among artists nominated for The Ivors

By Lauren Del Fabbro, Press Association Entertainment Reporter

CMAT, Olivia Dean, and Lily Allen are among the artists nominated for awards which celebrate songwriting.

Dean bagged her first Ivor nominations and is up for two categories including best album with her Brit-award winning record The Art of Loving.

It comes after the singer picked up her first Grammy for best new artist and triumphed at the Brit awards with four wins including the coveted artist of the year and album of the year.

The singer-songwriter will face Allen, who is also up for the best album category with her fifth studio album West End Girl along with CMAT’s Euro Country, Wolf Alice’s The Clearing and Jim Legxacy’s Black British Music.

Olivia Dean with her four Brit Awards during the Brit Awards 2026 at Co-op Live, Manchester
Olivia Dean with her four Brit Awards during the Brit Awards 2026 at Co-op Live, Manchester (Ian West/PA)

Dean’s single Man I Need has also been nominated for the PRS for Music most performed work category which celebrates songs that received the most broadcast, online and general performances based on PRS data.

Competing with Dean is Lola Young, who received her fourth nomination with her hit Messy, along with Myles Smith’s Stargazing, Chrystal’s The Days and Coldplay song Viva La Vida.

Scottish singer and recent Brit-winner Jacob Alon received their first Ivors nominations including for the rising star award and is joined by fellow nominees Chloe Qisha, Divorce, Kwn and Skye Newman.

Alon is also up for the best song musically and lyrically category with Don’t Fall Asleep.

Lola Young at the Vanity Fair Oscar party held at Los Angeles County Museum of Art in Beverly Hills
Lola Young is shortlisted in the PRS for Music most performed work category (Doug Peters/PA)

Others in the category include Florence and The Machine’s Everybody Scream, marking singer Florence Welch’s fourth Ivors nomination, Self Esteem’s Focus Is Power and the Sugababes’ Weeds.

Ellie Rowsell of Wolf Alice is also nominated in the category for The Sofa.

Little Simz received her fifth Ivors nomination for best contemporary song with Free and will face Self Esteem’s I Do And I Don’t Care and Damascus by Gorillaz.

Meanwhile, Kae Tempest secured a double nomination with the songs I Stand On The Line and Know Yourself.

Little Simz attends the Burberry show at 1 Old Billingsgate Walk, London, during London Fashion Week
Little Simz has received her fifth Ivors nomination (Ian West/PA)

The award ceremony will also recognise best original film score, with the nominees including The Brutalist, Bugonia and Nosferatu.

Among those nominated for the best television soundtrack category is Adolescence, This City is Ours and Trespasses.

Presented by the Ivors Academy, the peer-judged award ceremony celebrates and recognises songwriting and composing.

Winners of the Ivors with Amazon Music will be announced on Thursday, May 21st.

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