ADVERTISEMENTThis year’s Ivor Novello Awards marks the 70th anniversary of celebrating outstanding achievements in songwriting and composition.
The 2025 ceremony, held at Grosvenor House in London, saw 22 songwriters and composers receive awards across 14 categories, with over 70% of winners being first-time recipients.
Among the winners were Charli XCX, Lola Young, Self Esteem, U2, and Robbie Williams.
Find the complete list below.
Charli XCX was named Songwriter of the Year. Her album ‘Brat’, which featured in Euronews Culture’s Best Albums of 2024, was commended for its global and cultural impact.
“I’m sure you all agree, I am hardly Bob Dylan,” she joked to an audience that included Bruce Springsteen, “but one thing I certainly do is commit to the bit”.
Berwyn won his first Ivor Novello, receiving the award for Best Album. The judges praised his album ‘Who Am I’ for its “vivid storytelling that transcends generations, race and social differences, offering a voice to those often unseen by society”.
Lola Young received the Rising Star Award, Self Esteem was awarded the Visionary Award, and Raffertie won for Best Original Film Score for their work on the Oscar-winning film The Substance.
Check out our interview with Coralie Fargeat, the director of The Substance.
In addition, other winners include Orla Gartland (Best Song Musically And Lyrically), Sans Soucis (Best Contemporary Song), Robbie Williams (Music Icon), and U2 (Academy Fellowship).
U2 became the first Irish band to win the Ivor Novello fellowship, with the award recognizing almost 50 years of hits, including ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’, ‘I Will Follow’, ‘With Or Without You’ and ‘One’.
Speaking on stage, Bono paid tribute to the power of music saying, “Songs can be arrows through time if they come from the right place. They can fly higher and farther, last longer, hit harder. They can pierce the hardest armour of the human heart. I don’t know if they can change the world, but they changed us.”
Below are the complete winners of the Ivor Novello 2025 awards:
- Songwriter of the Year: Charli XCX
- Academy Fellowship: U2
- Music Icon Award: Robbie Williams
- Best Album: Berwyn – Who Am I
- Best Contemporary Song: Sans Soucis – Circumnavigating Georgia
- Best Song Musically And Lyrically: Orla Gartland – Mine
- Most Performed Work: Myles Smith – Stargazing
- Rising Star: Lola Young
- Best Original Film Score: The Substance – Raffertie
- Best Original Video Game Score: Farewell North – John Konsolakis
- Best Television Soundtrack: True Detective: Night Country – Vince Pope
- Outstanding Song Collection: Bloc Party
- Special International: Brandon Flowers
- Visionary Award: Self Esteem
