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Ivor Novello awards 2019: Ghetts, Jorja Smith and The 1975 among nominees

Ceremony takes place in London on 23 May

Roisin O'Connor
Wednesday 24 April 2019 17:03 BST
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Ghetts has been nominated for an Ivor Novello for his song 'Black Rose'
Ghetts has been nominated for an Ivor Novello for his song 'Black Rose'

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Ghetts, The 1975 and Jorja Smith are among the artists nominated for this year's Ivor Novello awards.

They are contending for best contemporary song, all with tracks that address pressing social issues including sexual abuse, political turmoil and racist beauty standards.

Ghetts' "Black Rose", which was inspired by his daughter, tackles the way society mistreats black women, while The 1975's "Love It if We Made It" explores feelings of disillusionment, political upheaval, fake news and Donald Trump.

Smith's nominated song, "Blue Lights", examines social stereotypes and mistrust of police.

Other nominees this year include George Ezra, Ben Howard, Arctic Monkeys, Rudimental and Hozier, while the best album category recognises innovative records by Young Fathers, Let's Eat Grandma and Idles.Politically charged work did well at last year's ceremony, where rapper Dave won the best contemporary song award for "Question Time", which took aim at Theresa May and her handling of the Grenfell tragedy.

Music Box #40: Ghetts

Crispin Hunt, the Ivors Academy chair, said he was pleased with the diversity of the nominations. This year, 70 per cent of the nominees were first-timers.

“The works nominated for the Ivors 2019 are brilliantly diverse, and we’re delighted to see so many first-time nominees recognised,” he said. “They are a fantastic reflection of the exciting emerging talent of British and Irish music creators today.”

The winners of the Ivor Novello awards will be announced at a ceremony held at London's Grosvenor House on 23 May.

See the full list of nominees

Best song musically and lyrically

"Four Out Of Five" - Arctic Monkeys

"Nica Libres At Dusk" - Ben Howard

"Nina Cried Power" - Hozier

Best contemporary song

"Black Rose" - Ghetts ft Kojey Radical

"Blue Lights" - Jorja Smith

"Love It If We Made It" - The 1975

PRS For Music most performed work

"Breathe" - Jax Jones ft Ina Wroldsen

"Shotgun" - George Ezra

"These Days" - Rudimental ft Jess Glynne, Macklemore and Dan Caplen

Best album

Cocoa Sugar - Young Fathers

I'm All Ears - Let's Eat Grandma

Joy As An Act of Resistance - Idles

Best original film score

American Animals - Anne Nikitin

Phantom Thread - Jonny Greenwood

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse - Daniel Pemberton

Best television soundtrack

Flowers (Series 2) - Arthur Sharpe

Happy New Year, Colin Burstead - Clint Mansell

Requiem - Natasha Khan and Dominik Scherrer

Best original video game score

Assassin's Creed Odyssey - Joe Henson and Alexis Smith (The Flight) and Michael Georgiades

Q.U.B.E. 2 - David Housden

Sea of Thieves - Robin Beanland

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