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Nominations announced for The Ivors with Amazon Music 2023

Today we announce the nominations for The Ivors 2023 with Amazon Music, recognising and celebrating outstanding songwriters and composers across nine categories.

Today, we announce the nominations for The Ivors 2023 with Amazon Music, recognising and celebrating outstanding songwriters and composers across nine categories – including Songwriter of the Year with Amazon Music, Best Album, Best Original Film Score, Best Contemporary Song, PRS for Music Most Performed Work and the Rising Star Award with Amazon Music.

Recognised as the pinnacle of creative musical achievement since they were first presented in 1956, winning an Ivor Novello holds a special place in music as they are judged by award-winning songwriters and composers from The Ivors Academy, with winners joining a roll call of greats that includes Adele, Cathy Dennis, Annie Lennox, Dave, Amy Winehouse, Paul McCartney and John Lennon.

This year, 72 individual songwriters and composers have received Ivor Novello nominations, with 54% of these receiving a nomination for the very first time. Harry Styles and Kid Harpoon are up for three Ivors, as are Cleopatra Nikolic and Dean “Inflo” Josiah Cover, making them this year’s most nominated songwriters.

The prestigious Songwriter of the Year with Amazon Music recognises British or Irish songwriters or songwriting partnerships for outstanding bodies of commercially successful songs released in 2022. This year’s nominees are all heavyweights of the music industry responsible for countless UK #1 releases combined: Florence Welch (Florence + the Machine), Harry Styles and Kid Harpoon, Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers (Wet Leg), George Daniel and Matty Healy (The 1975) and Central Cee and Young Chencs.

Celebrating albums released in the UK in 2022 that exhibit creative consistency and exceptional songwriting, this year’s nominees for Best Album include Arctic Monkey’s The Car (written by Alex Turner), Obongjayar’s Some Nights I Dream of Doors (written by Barney Lister and Obongjayar) and Fontaines D.C.’s Skinty Fia (written by Grian Chatten, Thomas Coll, Conor Curley, Conor Deegan and Carlos O’Connell). Cleopatra Nikolic and Dean “Inflo” Josiah Cover are both nominated twice in this category, for their work on Little Simz’s No Thank You and SAULT’s 11 alongside co-writers Jamar McNaughton and Jack Peñate.

Knucks receives two nominations for Best Contemporary Song, one for his track ‘Leon the Professional’ with co-writers Venna and Toshifumi Hinata and one for his feature on Kojey Radical’s ‘Payback’ that also credits Swindle – who is responsible for composing the new theme music for the Ivor Novello ceremonies. The other nominations are Wesley Joseph and Leon Vynehall for ‘Cold Summer’, 070 Shake, RAYE and Mike Sabath for ‘Escapism’ and Owen Cutts, P2J, PRGRSHN and Stormzy for ‘Hide & Seek’.

In the PRS for Music Most Performed Work category, Ed Sheeran makes history as ‘Bad Habits’ is once again nominated after winning the award last year. He is the first ever artist to achieve the feat in this category, with his track ‘Shivers’ also nominated. After a major surge of popularity following hit TV series Stranger Things, Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’ is nominated 37 years after the track was originally among the nominees for Best Contemporary Song. Also nominated is Harry Styles ‘As It Was’ and Glass Animals ‘Heat Waves’.

Since its inception in 2020, the Rising Star Award with Amazon Music has championed Britain and Ireland’s most promising songwriting talents, and previous winners are Mysie, Willow Kayne and Naomi Kimpenu. Hoping to claim the prize this year are Cat Burns, Ines Dunn, tendai, venbee and Victoria Canal – with each artist receiving their first Ivor Novello nomination.

Best Song Musically and Lyrically is awarded to those who demonstrated an excellence in songwriting craft in 2022. Nominated this year is Harry Styles’ ‘As It Was’, Tom Odell’s ‘Best Day of My Life’, Katie Gregson-Macleod’s ‘complex’, SAULT’s ‘Stronger’ and Florence + the Machine’s ‘King’ – which also credits esteemed US songwriter and producer Jack Antonoff, who has worked on many of the last decade’s most successful and influential pop songs.

The Ivors also recognises Britain and Ireland’s finest composers across film, TV and video games. Nominees for Best Original Film Score include John Powell for the music of Don’t Worry Darling, starring fellow nominee Harry Styles, and the record-breaking blockbuster Avatar: The Way of Water, composed by Simon Franglen. Also nominated are Patrick Doyle for Death on the Nile, Rael Jones for Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris and Arthur Sharpe for The Electrical Life of Louis Wain.

The Best Original Video Game Score category sees British musical duo The Flight receive two nominations. Firstly, for their musical contributions on the Batman-inspired Gotham Knights, and secondly on the critically acclaimed Horizon Forbidden West, also composed by Joris de Man and Oleksa Lozowchuk. Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is the final nomination, composed by Gareth Coker, Grant Kirkhope and Yoko Shimomura.

Best Television Soundtrack has been presented at The Ivors since 1962, recognising the integral and invaluable role music plays in television. Making up the nominees this year are PJ Harvey and Tim Phillips for Bad Sisters, David Schweitzer for Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen, Harry Escott and Ben Pearson for The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe, Hannah Peel for The Midwich Cuckoos, and Matthew Herbert, who was nominated in the same category in 2021, for The Responder.

Tom Gray, Chair of The Ivors Academy, said, “The music nominated for an Ivor Novello this year is testament to the power and range of British and Irish songwriting and screen composing. It’s a superlative list and on behalf of The Ivors Academy I’m delighted to congratulate every writer nominated for their craft and achievements.”

The official playlist for The Ivors 2023, released today on Amazon Music, showcases the songs and songwriters nominated for a 2023 award. Listen here.

The winners will be revealed at The Ivors with Amazon Music at Grosvenor House in London on Thursday 18th May 2023. As previously announced, Sting will become a Fellow of The Ivors Academy, the highest honour the Academy bestows. Ivor Novello Awards will also be presented for the Outstanding Song Collection, Special International Award, Visionary Award with Amazon Music and PRS for Music Icon Award.


The Ivors 2023 nominations are:

 

BEST ALBUM


11

written by Dean “Inflo” Josiah Cover, Jamar McNaughton, Cleopatra Nikolic and Jack Peñate

performed by SAULT

NO THANK YOU

written by Dean “Inflo” Josiah Cover, Little Simz and Cleopatra Nikolic

performed by Little Simz

SKINTY FIA

written by Grian Chatten, Thomas Coll, Conor Curley, Conor Deegan and Carlos O’Connell

performed by Fontaines D.C.

SOME NIGHTS I DREAM OF DOORS

written by Barney Lister and Obongjayar

performed by Obongjayar

THE CAR

written by Alex Turner

performed by Arctic Monkeys

 

BEST CONTEMPORARY SONG


COLD SUMMER

written by Wesley Joseph and Leon Vynehall

performed by Wesley Joseph

 

ESCAPISM

written by 070 Shake, RAYE and Mike Sabath

performed by RAYE & 070 Shake

 

HIDE & SEEK

written by Owen Cutts, P2J, PRGRSHN and Stormzy

performed by Stormzy

 

LEON THE PROFESSIONAL

written by Knucks, Venna and Toshifumi Hinata

performed by Knucks

 

PAYBACK

written by Knucks, Kojey Radical and Swindle

performed by Kojey Radical feat. Knucks

 

BEST ORIGINAL FILM SCORE


AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER

composed by Simon Franglen

 

DEATH ON THE NILE

composed by Patrick Doyle

 

DON’T WORRY DARLING

composed by John Powell

 

MRS. HARRIS GOES TO PARIS

composed by Rael Jones

 

THE ELECTRICAL LIFE OF LOUIS WAIN

composed by Arthur Sharpe

 

BEST ORIGINAL VIDEO GAME SCORE


GOTHAM KNIGHTS

composed by The Flight

 

HORIZON FORBIDDEN WEST

composed by Joris de Man, Oleksa Lozowchuk and The Flight

 

MARIO + RABBIDS SPARKS OF HOPE

composed by Gareth Coker, Grant Kirkhope and Yoko Shimomura

 

BEST SONG MUSICALLY AND LYRICALLY


AS IT WAS

written by Kid Harpoon, Tyler Johnson and Harry Styles

performed by Harry Styles

 

BEST DAY OF MY LIFE

written by Laurie Blundell and Tom Odell

performed by Tom Odell

 

COMPLEX

written by Katie Gregson-Macleod

performed by Katie Gregson-Macleod

 

KING

written by Jack Antonoff and Florence Welch

performed by Florence + The Machine

 

STRONGER

written by Dean “Inflo” Josiah Cover and Cleopatra Nikolic

performed by SAULT

 

BEST TELEVISION SOUNDTRACK


BAD SISTERS

composed by PJ Harvey and Tim Phillips

 

ELIZABETH: THE UNSEEN QUEEN

composed by David Schweitzer

 

THE MIDWICH CUCKOOS

composed by Hannah Peel

 

THE RESPONDER

composed by Matthew Herbert

 

THE THIEF, HIS WIFE AND THE CANOE

composed by Harry Escott and Ben Pearson

 

PRS FOR MUSIC MOST PERFORMED WORK


AS IT WAS

written by Kid Harpoon, Tyler Johnson and Harry Styles

performed by Harry Styles

 

BAD HABITS

written by FRED, Johnny McDaid and Ed Sheeran

performed by Ed Sheeran

 

HEAT WAVES

written by Dave Bayley

performed by Glass Animals

 

RUNNING UP THAT HILL

written by Kate Bush

performed by Kate Bush

 

SHIVERS

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

performed by Ed Sheeran

 

RISING STAR AWARD WITH AMAZON MUSIC

Cat Burns

Ines Dunn

tendai

venbee

Victoria Canal

 

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR WITH AMAZON MUSIC

Central Cee and Young Chencs

Florence Welch

George Daniel and Matty Healy

Harry Styles and Kid Harpoon

Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers

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