Ivor Novello Awards 2018 - as it happened: Ed Sheeran named Songwriter of the Year while Stormzy wins Best Album
Annual songwriting honours 'the pinnacle of musical achievement and peer recognition'
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Your support makes all the difference.The 63rd Ivor Novello Awards took place on Thursday 31 May (today), with some of the UK's biggest artists - including Ed Sheeran, Elbow and Stormzy - taking home awards.
Stormzy and Sheeran received the top prizes, for Album of the Year and Songwriter of the Year, respectively.
Accepting his award from last years recipient Laura Mvula, Stormzy said: “YES. Very very happy right now. Obviously this is an award that only recognises your pen and your art so... properly wanted to win this one.
"YES. Man. I worked so hard on my album from an artistic point of view, I worked so hard, I made sure my pen was as sharp as it could be. YES.”
Sheeran, who also won the prize for Most Performed Work (for his monster hit "Shape of You"), praised Stormzy for his win and also thanked his co-writers, management and label for their support.
Also honoured were several legends of the music industry, including Lionel Richie, Billy Ocean, Shane McGowan of The Pogues, Billy Bragg, and songwriter Cathy Dennis.
To be eligible for the awards this year, works must have been commercially released in the UK in 2017 and have a British or Irish songwriting contribution of at least one third.
Presented and judged by music creators, the Ivors aim to represent "the pinnacle of musical achievement and peer recognition".
The liveblog is now closed:
Sheeran has two songs in the running for the Most Performed Work category: "Castle On The Hill" and "Shape of You", both from his latest album Divide. He is competing against Rag'n'Bone Man's hit song "Human", from his debut album of the same name.
"BASCA's nominations for the 2018 Ivor Novello Awards are, as ever, a mirror of the eclectic and inspirational reach of current UK music," BASCA chair Crispin Hunt commented.
"The Ivors' purpose is to recognise and celebrate excellence in British and Irish music writing across Song, Album, Television, Film, and this year, Video Games.
"As the only peer nominated music award ceremony in the country, the Ivors are inherently about musical merit and communication more than promotion, and we're especially excited to be able to honour some of the phenomenal talents of the contemporary British music writing scene. Talent admired the whole world over."
2017 was a successful year all round for UK music, with record label revenue growth returning to a level last seen during the height of the Britpop era.
According to a report by industry association the BPI, combined revenue from streaming, downloads, physical sales and licensing for use in films, TV and video games rose by 10.6 per cent to £839m last year.
Part of that success was attributed to the global sales figures accrued by artists such as Sheeran, Stormzy, Adele and Rag'n'Bone Man - eight of the 10 best-selling UK albums of 2017 were by UK artists, while Sheeran's album Divide was the most popular record across all formats last year, breaking several industry records.
Here are the nominations for
BEST CONTEMPORARY SONG
"Cola" - Written by Michael di Scala, Alexander Kotz AKA Elderbrook and Dave Whelan / Performed by CamelPhat and Elderbrook / Published in the UK by Defected Music Ltd and Black Butter Music Publishing – BMG
"Don’t Cry For Me" - Written by Michael 'Stormzy' Omari, Varren Wade and Wizzy Wow / Performed by Stormzy ft. Raleigh Ritchie / Published in the UK by Warner/Chappell Music Ltd, Bucks Music Group and Wardlaw Music
"Question Time" - Written by Dave and Fraser T Smith / Performed by Dave / Published in the UK by Warner/Chappell Music Ltd and Kobalt Music Publishing
The winner is: "Question Time" - Written by Dave and Fraser T Smith / Performed by Dave / Published in the UK by Warner/Chappell Music Ltd and Kobalt Music Publishing
Congratulations!
Congratulations to the legendary Thea Musgrave - #TheIvors Classical Music Award recipient 2018!
https://twitter.com/TheIvors/status/1002192358593781761
The next category is Best Song Musically and Lyrically presented by the one and only Mel C!
The nominees are:
"Can’t Do" - Written by Jonathan Higgs, Jeremy Pritchard, Alex Robertshaw and Michael Spearman / Performed by Everything Everything / Published in the UK by Black Butter Music Publishing – BMG
"Magnificent (She Says)" - Written by Guy Garvey, Craig Potter, Mark Potter and Pete Turner / Performed by Elbow / Published in the UK by Salvation Music Ltd - Warner/Chappell Music Publishing Ltd
"(No One Knows Me) Like the Piano" - Written by Sampha / Performed by Sampha / Published in the UK by Beggars Music - Young Turks Music
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