The Ivor Novello Awards 2025 took place last night, with Charli XCX, Lola Young, Berwyn and Robbie Williams taking home prizes. The ceremony held at Grosvenor House, London, marked the 70th year of the coveted awards show.
Charli XCX picked up the prize for the Ivor Novello ‘Songwriter of the Year’. In her down-to-earth, humorous manner, she demonstrated her “songwriting genius” by quoting the lyrics for her song ‘Club Classics: “I wanna dance to me, me, me / When I go to the club, club, club.”
She joked, “I’m sure you all agree, I am hardly Bob Dylan. But one thing I certainly do is commit to the bit.”
Charli’s win adds another notch under her belt, after an incredible year of critical acclaim and new heights of fame following ‘Brat‘. As well as her new Ivor, she won big at the Brits earlier this year, taking home five awards, as well as three at the Grammys.
Lola Young managed to claim the ‘Rising Star’ award, after the success of her breakthrough single ‘Messy’, which spent four weeks at No. 1 on the UK charts. She’s since performed and been nominated at the Brits, played at Coachella, and is set to take to the stage at Glastonbury later this summer.
After winning the award, she told the BBC: “This is such a big moment for the kid in my bedroom that was 10 years old, writing songs on her guitar. To be here now is such an honour, and such a gives me such a warm feeling.”
Rapper/producer/songwriter Berwyn also saw victory last night, grabbing the award for ‘Best Album’, with his debut release, ‘Who Am I’. The judges praised the record and its “vivid storytelling that transcends generations, race and social differences, offering a voice to those often unseen by society”.
This year’s awards saw 22 songwriters and composers collecting prizes in 14 categories. While 70% of the winners this year were first-timers, it wasn’t only new talent that was being celebrated. Rock heroes U2 became the first Irish band to win the ‘Fellowship of the Ivor Novello Songwriting Academy’.
U2 performed tonight at the Ivor Novello awards, seen here performing an”Angel of Harlem”, we’ll have a more complete report later. And yes, that’s Larry Mullen performing with them on stage.
Video clip here via Universal: https://t.co/RaNzIfRTeg #U2 pic.twitter.com/IsurzO39VH
— U2Songs.com (@u2songs) May 22, 2025
Accepting the academy fellowship, Bono spoke on the strength and power that music can have: “Songs can be arrows through time if they come from the right place,” he said.
“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.”
As the band played an acoustic version of their political anthem, ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’, Bono asked for peace in the on-going Israel-Gaza conflict. The singer said: “Hamas release the hostages. Stop the war. Israel be released from Benjamin Netanyahu.
“All of you protect our aid workers, they are the best of us.”
Robbie Williams was also given the ‘PRS For Music Icon’ award. The British pop legend has recently released a single called ‘Rocket’ from his upcoming record, ‘Britpop‘. Honouring a career going back to his beginnings with boyband Take That in the 90’s, to his high-selling solo hits like ‘Angels’, ‘Rock DJ’ and ‘Feel’, he tried to describe the feeling of taking the ‘icon’ title with him.
“When momentous things like this happen, it’s just a hodge-podge of things coming at you from the universe,” he said backstage.
“It’s self-doubt and self-hatred mixed with ego and delusion and audacity.
“So it’s very difficult to put your finger on what it feels like in the moment, other than you’re supposed to say, ‘I’m very grateful’. And I am.”
You can find the full Ivor Novello awards winners list below.
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
