Harry Styles, Kate Bush Among Nominees for Ivor Songwriting Awards

Harry Styles attends the premiere of "My Policeman" during the Toronto International Film Festival, Sept. 11, 2022, in Toronto. (AP)
Harry Styles attends the premiere of "My Policeman" during the Toronto International Film Festival, Sept. 11, 2022, in Toronto. (AP)
TT

Harry Styles, Kate Bush Among Nominees for Ivor Songwriting Awards

Harry Styles attends the premiere of "My Policeman" during the Toronto International Film Festival, Sept. 11, 2022, in Toronto. (AP)
Harry Styles attends the premiere of "My Policeman" during the Toronto International Film Festival, Sept. 11, 2022, in Toronto. (AP)

Singers Harry Styles and Kate Bush are among the nominees at next month's Ivors, the annual awards honouring songwriters and screen composers.

Kate Bush is being recognized for her 1985 song "Running Up That Hill" which enjoyed a resurgence in popularity last year thanks to Netflix show "Stranger Things", the UK-based Ivors Academy said on Tuesday evening.

The track will compete against Styles' mega hit "As It Was" in the most performed work category, which also includes Glass Animals' "Heat Waves" and two songs by hitmaker Ed Sheeran, "Shivers" and "Bad Habits".

Sheeran won the category last year with "Bad Habits" and it is the first time the same song has been nominated for the award two years running.

Styles has three nominations overall, including best song musically and lyrically for "As It Was" and songwriter of the year alongside his collaborator Kid Harpoon.

That category also includes singer Florence Welch, Wet Leg duo Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers, George Daniel and Matty Healy of pop rock group The 1975 and rapper Central Cee with collaborator Young Chencs.

Album of the year contenders include rock group Arctic Monkeys' "The Car", Irish post-punk band Fontaines D.C.'s "Skinty Fia" and Nigerian-born artist Obongjayar's "Some Nights I Dream of Doors".

Rapper Little Simz's album "No Thank You" and music collective Sault's "11" are also nominated, both with credits for singer-songwriter Cleo Sol and producer Dean "Inflo" Josiah Cover. The duo have three nominations overall.

Tom Odell’s "Best Day of My Life", Katie Gregson-Macleod’s "complex", Sault's "Stronger" and Florence + the Machine’s "King" complete the Best Song Musically and Lyrically category.

"The music nominated for an Ivor Novello this year is testament to the power and range of British and Irish songwriting and screen composing," Tom Gray, chair of The Ivors Academy, said in a statement. "It’s a superlative list."

Box office hit "Avatar: The Way of Water" and psychological drama "Don't Worry Darling" are among the nominees for best original film score.

Named after the early 20th century Welsh composer, actor and entertainer Ivor Novello, the Ivor Awards were first handed out in 1956. This year's awards take place on May 18 in London.



R.E.M. Delivers Surprise Performance at Songwriting Gala 

Rock band R.E.M Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe and Bill Berry attend the 2024 Songwriters Hall of Fame Inductions and gala in New York City, US, June 13, 2024. (Reuters)
Rock band R.E.M Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe and Bill Berry attend the 2024 Songwriters Hall of Fame Inductions and gala in New York City, US, June 13, 2024. (Reuters)
TT

R.E.M. Delivers Surprise Performance at Songwriting Gala 

Rock band R.E.M Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe and Bill Berry attend the 2024 Songwriters Hall of Fame Inductions and gala in New York City, US, June 13, 2024. (Reuters)
Rock band R.E.M Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe and Bill Berry attend the 2024 Songwriters Hall of Fame Inductions and gala in New York City, US, June 13, 2024. (Reuters)

R.E.M. performed onstage together for the first time in well over a decade Thursday, reuniting to play their classic "Losing My Religion" as they were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Michael Stipe, Peter Buck and Mike Mills broke up in 2011, and the last time all four members played onstage together -- Bill Berry left in 1997 -- was in 2007.

But entrance into the who's who of music that is the prestigious songwriting pantheon got the band back together.

"Songwriting is the very foundation of why we came together in the first place," lead vocalist Michael Stipe told AFP. "We're really proud."

The band was inducted by Jason Isbell, who performed a cover of R.E.M's "It's The End of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" at the event.

"R.E.M. was greater than the sum of its parts. R.E.M. moved like a single instrument," Isbell said.

The Songwriters Hall of Fame celebrates its inductees with a festive dinner and intimate concert instead of a televised event.

Kevin Bacon and his brother Michael -- the duo known as The Bacon Brothers -- opened the show with a foot-stomping rendition of "Footloose," the Oscar-nominated title track of the hit 1984 film of the same name.

Bacon starred in the movie -- but Dean Pitchford wrote it and much of its music, and was among the elite group inducted Thursday.

The writer of many hit films and musical tracks, Pitchford thanked the adoring audience "for hearing all these years, and above all, thank you for listening to me."

Trey Anastasio of Phish inducted Steely Dan, while chairman of the Songwriters Hall of Fame Nile Rodgers -- the beloved co-founder of Chic -- bestowed SZA with a special award for songwriters "at an apex in their careers."

It's "just beyond all of my wildest dreams," SZA said, before performing an acoustic rendition of "Snooze."

Rodgers took his moment onstage to emphasize that "there would be no music industry if there were no songs," specifically calling out streaming platform Spotify to "acknowledge and make a point of songwriters being your priority."

- Hip hop, country, and Oscar royalty -

None other than Missy Elliott had the crowd on its feet as she inducted Timbaland into the coveted class.

"In hip hop, there was certain ways that hip hop music sounds -- Timbaland... literally changed the cadence," she said, adding that the producer, rapper and singer whose hits include "Give It To Me" was a master at marrying sensibilities of rap and R&B.

"Thank you for giving me a seat at the table," Timbaland said in a lengthy acceptance speech, before conducting a house band through a medley of his hits and those he produced for the likes of Elliott, Justin Timberlake and Beyonce.

Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban performed in honor of Hillary Lindsey, a Nashville songwriting star who's written for artists including Lady Gaga, Bon Jovi, Taylor Swift, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Shakira.

And Diane Warren -- the songwriter who's earned 15 Oscar nominations, including for "Because You Loved Me" performed by Celine Dion and Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" -- received the night's highest honor, the Johnny Mercer award.

She, like all of the inductees, said being honored by her peers was particularly special.

"It's songwriters -- what's cooler than that?" she said.