Best of British and Irish songwriting celebrated in Ivor Novello nominees

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Yussef Dayes and Sampha both lead the nominations for this year’s Ivor Novello Awards after they have both been nominated individually for their most recent albums, as well as together for co-writing the Sampha song ‘Spirit 2.0’.

Also with two nominations, Daniel Pemberton has been recognised for his scoring work in the film Spider-Man's Across the Spider-Verse and the third season of TV series 'Slow Horses' which he composed with Toydrum.

Unlike other music awards, the Ivor Novellos are particularly focused on songwriting and composition, with lyrics and craft championed above all else. 

First started in 1955, the Ivors have recognised the talent of some of the UK and Ireland’s greatest musicians, from the Beatles in the 60s through to Amy Winehouse, Stormzy and Adele in more recent years.

Five albums were nominated in the headline Best Album category. Each nomination is credited to the writers of the album in addition to recognising the performer.

It’s a strong line-up. Yussef Dayes’ continued influence as one of the most exciting contemporary jazz musicians and Mercury Prize winner Sampha’s jazz-influenced R&B album are against Lankum’s revolutionary take on folk classics, with the impeccable alternative pop of Irish musician CMAT and RAYE’s headline-grabbing independently released album providing stiff competition.

Over in Best Contemporary song, Jungle have been recognised for their song ‘Back on 74’ while US and South African artists Mette and Tyla, respectively have been recognised for their tracks’ British writing teams.

One of the most prestigious awards within the Ivor Novellos is the Best Song Musically and Lyrically Category. For this award, Tom Odell, Victoria Canal, Sampha, the Japanese House and Blur have all been nominated.

The full nominees are:

Best Album

• Yussef Dayes’s ‘Black Classical Music’, written by Yussef Dayes, Rocco Palladino and Charlie Stacey
• CMAT’s ‘Crazymad, for Me’, written by her.
• Lankum ‘False Lankum’ written by bandmembers Daragh and Ian Lynch, Cormac MacDiarmada and Radie Peat
• Sampha’s ‘Lahai’, written by him.
• Raye’s ‘My 21st Century Blues’, written by her and Mike Sabath

Best Contemporary Song

• Jungle’s ‘Back on 74’, written by Lydia Kitto, J Lloyd and Tom McFarland
• Fred Again & Brian Eno’s ‘Enough’, written by Brian Eno, Fred Gibson, Buddy Ross and Winnie Raeder
• Speakers Corner Quartet's ‘Geronimo Blues (ft Kae Tempest)’, written by Kwake Bass, Peter Bennie, Biscuit, Raven Bush and Kae Tempest
• Mette's ‘Mama’s Eyes’, written by Todd Dulaney, Ines Dunn, Barney Lister and Mette
• Tyla's ‘Water’, written by Imani “Mocha” Lewis, Corey Lindsay-Keay, Jackson Lomastro, Ari PenSmith, Rayo, Sammy Soso and Olmo Zucca

Best Original Film Score

• Poor Things, by Jerskin Fendrix
• Spider-Man's Across the Spider-Verse, by Daniel Pemberton
• Typist Artist Pirate King, by Carly Paradis

Best Original Video Game Score

• ‘Call of Duty's Modern Warfare III’, by Walter Mair
• ‘Star Wars Jedi's Survivor’, by Stephen Barton and Gordy Haab
• ‘Tin Hearts’, by Matthew Chastney

Best Song Musically and Lyrically

• Tom Odell's ‘Black Friday’, written by Laurie Blundell, Max Clilverd and Tom Odell
• Victoria Canal's ‘Black Swan’, written by Victoria Canal, Jonny Lattimer and Eg White
• Sampha's ‘Spirit 2.0’, written by Yussef Dayes and Sampha
• The Japanese House's ‘Sunshine Baby’, written by Amber Bain
• Blur's ‘The Narcissist’, written by Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree

Best Television Soundtrack

• ‘Boat Story’, by Dominik Scherrer
• ‘Slow Horses’, by Daniel Pemberton and Toydrum
• ‘The Crown’, by Martin Phipps
• ‘The Following Events Are Based On a Pack Of Lies’, by Arthur Sharpe
• ‘Three Little Birds’, by Benjamin Kwasi Burrell

PRS For Music Most Performed Work

• Harry Styles's ‘As It Was’, written by Kid Harpoon, Tyler Johnson and Harry Styles
• PinkPantheress & Ice Spice's ‘Boy’s a Liar Pt 2’, written by Ice Spice, Mura Masa and PinkPantheress
• Jazzy's ‘Giving Me’, written by Conor Bissett, Robert Griffiths and Jazzy
• Central Cee & Dave's ‘Sprinter’, written by Central Cee, Dave, Jo Caleb and Jonny Leslie
• Kenya Grace's ‘Strangers’, written by Kenya Grace

Rising Star Award with Amazon Music

• Blair Davie
• Chrissi
• Elmiene
• Master Peace
• Nino SLG

This year’s Ivor Novello awards ceremony will be held Grosvenor House in London on 23 May.