The Ivors Academy has revealed nominations for The Ivors With Apple Music 2022, which recognises outstanding songwriting and composing across nine categories.

Awards to be presented include Songwriter of the Year, Best Contemporary Song, Best Original Scores for Film, Television and Video Games, and the Rising Star Award with Apple Music.

The 67th presentation of Ivor Novello Awards at The Ivors With Apple Music takes place at the Grosvenor House, London on Thursday, May 19, 2022.

This year’s list of nominations celebrates 77 individual songwriters and composers. Up for four awards, Dean ‘Inflo’ Josiah Cover is 2022’s most nominated songwriter. He is recognised for his work with fellow nominees Cleo Soul and Little Simz, who both received two nominations.

It’s been a big week for Ed Sheeran, who yesterday won a High Court victory in the Shape Of You copyright trial and made a passionate defence of the songwriter’s art in the streaming era. Sheeran, who’s made a big Q1 impact with his = campaign, is up for three awards.

Adele is up for two awards at The Ivors this year, following the huge success of comeback album 30.

Shaznay Lewis, Ivor Novello Award winner and judge for The Ivors, said: “It’s been a standout year for music and I am full of admiration for the 77 talented songwriters and composers we are celebrating this year. Their work and words touch on a dizzying range of emotions, and I count myself lucky to have heard their stories. As it has every year since 1956, The Ivors celebrates the outstanding creation of music, and I’d like to say a huge congratulations to every nominee.” 

Five huge artists are in the running for Songwriter of the Year. The prestigious award recognises songwriters or songwriting partnerships for outstanding bodies of songs released in 2021, with Adele, Coldplay, Dave, Ed Sheeran and Raye up for the award this year. For the second year, members of The Ivors Academy will vote for the winner.

Nominees for Best Album include Laura Mvula’s Pink Noise and Sleaford Mods for Spare Ribs. 

Inflo received three of his four nominations in this category, including recognition for his work with Cleo Sol on both her album Mother and on Sault’s Nine, and with Little Simz for Sometimes I Might Be Introvert. 

This year’s Best Song Musically And Lyrically includes nominations for Rag’n’Bone Man’s All You Ever Wanted, Adele’s Easy On Me, Ella Henderson’s Let’s Go Home Together, Sam Fender’s Seventeen Going Under and Holly Humberstone’s Haunted House, with their co-writers.

It’s been a standout year for music

Shaznay Lewis

The category for Best Contemporary Song features Rising Star Award nominee PinkPantheress for Just For Me, as well as a second nomination for Little Simz (I Love You, I Hate You). Also recognised for outstanding originality in songwriting are Russ Millions and Tion Wayne for Body, James Blake and SZA for Coming Back, and FKA twigs, Headie One and Fred Again.. for Don’t Judge Me. 

Now in its third year, the Rising Star Award with Apple Music discovers, supports and accelerates the careers of the most promising young UK or Irish songwriters. This year sees an all-female list of nominees: Ashaine White, Luz, Matilda Mann, Naomi Kimpenu, and PinkPantheress. Each will receive mentorship from a well-established Academy member, as well as support from leaders from Apple Music. 

Illustrating the impact of the award, 2021 nominee Holly Humberstone is now in the running for Best Song Musically and Lyrically this year.  

Nominations for PRS For Music Most Performed Work celebrate the songwriters of five huge hits released in 2021. Leading the category is Songwriter of the Year nominee Ed Sheeran’s Bad Habits and Shivers. Also nominated is Bed, performed by David Guetta, Joel Corry and Raye, alongside Tom Grennan’s Little Bit Of Love, and Elton John and Dua Lipa’s Cold Heart (Pnau Remix).

Recognised for outstanding original music for feature films, nominees for Best Original Film Score include Steven Price for the music in Edgar Wright’s psychological thriller Last Night in Soho and Jonny Greenwood for the Oscar-nominated Spencer. Also nominated are Chris Roe for After Love, Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch for her work on Censor and Daniel Blumberg for the critically acclaimed drama The World To Come. 

All winners will receive a dedicated Ivor Novello Award and join a roll call of songwriting and composing greats that includes Cathy Dennis, Stormzy, Annie Lennox, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Kate Bush, David Arnold, George Fenton and Joan Armatrading.  

The Ivors 2022 nominations are:

BEST ALBUM

• MOTHER written by Cleo Sol and Dean ‘Inflo’ Josiah Cover, performed by Cleo Sol

• NINE written by Cleo Sol, Dean ‘Inflo’ Josiah Cover and Jack Penate, performed by Sault

• PINK NOISE written by Dann Hume and Laura Mvula, performed by Laura Mvula

• SOMETIMES I MIGHT BE INTROVERT written by Dean ‘Inflo’ Josiah Cover and Little Simz, performed by Little Simz

• SPARE RIBS written by Andrew Fearn and Jason Williamson, performed by Sleaford Mods

BEST CONTEMPORARY SONG

• BODY written by Gotcha, Russ Millions and Tion Wayne, performed by Russ Millions & Tion Wayne

• COMING BACK written by James Blake, Dominic Maker, Starrah and SZA, performed by James Blake feat. SZA

• DON’T JUDGE ME written by FKA twigs, Fred Again.. and Headie One, performed by FKA twigs, Headie One, Fred Again..

• I LOVE YOU, I HATE YOU written by Dean ‘Inflo’ Josiah Cover and Little Simz, performed by Little Simz

• JUST FOR ME written by Mura Masa, PinkPantheress, Mike Kinsella, Steve Holmes and Steve Lamos, performed by PinkPantheress

BEST ORIGINAL FILM SCORE

• AFTER LOVE composed by Chris Roe

• CENSOR composed by Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch

• LAST NIGHT IN SOHO composed by Steven Price

• SPENCER composed by Jonny Greenwood

• THE WORLD TO COME composed by Daniel Blumberg

BEST ORIGINAL VIDEO GAME SCORE

• MARVEL’S GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY composed by Richard Jacques

• OMNO composed by Benedict Nichols

• RETURNAL composed by Bobby Krlic

BEST SONG MUSICALLY AND LYRICALLY

 
• ALL YOU EVER WANTED written by Mike Elizondo, Natalie Hemby, Ben Jackson-Cook and Rag’n’Bone Man, performed by Rag’n’Bone Man

• EASY ON ME written by Adele and Greg Kurstin, performed by Adele

• HAUNTED HOUSE written by Sarah Aarons, Holly Humberstone and Rob Milton, performed by Holly Humberstone

• LET’S GO HOME TOGETHER written by James Arthur, Tom Barnes, Ella Henderson, Pete Kelleher and Ben Kohn, performed by Ella Henderson & Tom Grennan

• SEVENTEEN GOING UNDER written by Sam Fender, performed by Sam Fender

BEST TELEVISION SOUNDTRACK

• BLITZ SPIRIT WITH LUCY WORSLEY composed by Jessica Dannheisser

• LANDSCAPERS composed by Arthur Sharpe 

• ROBIN ROBIN composed by Ben Please and Beth Porter

• THE OUTLAWS composed by Stew Jackson and Dan Jones

• THE SERPENT composed by Dominic Scherrer

PRS FOR MUSIC MOST PERFORMED WORK

• BAD HABITS written by Fred Again.., Johnny McDaid and Ed Sheeran, performed by Ed Sheeran 

• BED written by David Guetta, Jin Jin, Raye and Giorgio Tuinfort, performed by Joel Corry, Raye and David Guetta 

• COLD HEART (PNAU REMIX) written by Elton John, Bernie Taupin, Andrew Meecham and Dean Meredith, performed by Elton John & Dua Lipa

• LITTLE BIT OF LOVE written by Daniel Bryer, Tom Grennan and Mike Needle, performed by Tom Grennan

• SHIVERS written by Kal Lavelle, Steve Mac, Johnny McDaid and Ed Sheeran, performed by Ed Sheeran

RISING STAR AWARD WITH APPLE MUSIC

• Ashaine White

• Luz

• Matilda Mann

• Naomi Kimpenu

• PinkPantheress

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR

• Adele

• Coldplay

• Dave

• Ed Sheeran

• Raye

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