Fola, Wizkid, Omah Lay lead 2026 Headies Awards nominations [FULL LIST]

Organizers of the Headies Awards announced the nominees for the 18th edition of the prestigious music awards on Tuesday. The event, themed “Africa to the World,” is set to take place on October 25 in Toronto, Canada.

The nomination list includes a total of 213 entries across various categories. Leading the nominations is artist Fola, with 10 nods, closely followed by Omah Lay with eight nominations. Both Wizkid and Mavo garnered seven nominations each.

In the female categories, Tiwa Savage and Ayra Starr received the highest nominations, each earning five.

The following categories and nominees were announced:

Song of the Year

• Rahman Jago
• “With You” — Davido & Omah Lay
• “Hey Jago” — Poco Lee, Shoday
• “Joy Is Coming” — Fido
• “Hot Body” — Ayra Starr
• “Arike” — Kunmie
• “MMS” — Asake & Wizkid

Afrobeats Single of the Year

• “You” — Fola
• “Jogodo” — Asake & Wizkid
• “With You” — Davido & Omah Lay
• “Bundle by Bundle” — Burna Boy
• “Fun” — Rema
• “Laho” — Shallipopi

Best Performer (Live)

• Asake — Red Bull Symphonic
• Adekunle Gold — Live at the National Theatre, Lagos
• Ayra Starr — Global Citizen Festival 2025
• Ruger — Live at Indigo at The O2, London (2025)
• Johnny Drille — Johnny’s Room Live 6

Best R&B Album

• “Catharsis” — Fola
• “I Am the Blueprint” — Qing Madi
• “Reflection Station” — Tay Iwar
• “Love Is a Kingdom” — Tems
• “This One Is Personal” — Tiwa Savage
• “Before We Became Strangers” — Kunmie

Best Recording of the Year

• “How Do You?” — Amaeya
• “You” — Fola
• “Baby (Is It a Crime)” — Rema
• “Coping Mechanism” — Omah Lay & Elmah
• “With You” — Davido & Omah Lay
• “Arike” — Kunmie

Best Alternative Album

• “Detox” — Sewa
• “Olorin Pack” — Scottyolorin
• “Duplicity” — BOJ
• “Then It Got Crazy” — Zaylevelten
• “Afrika Magik” — SDC
• “Healers Chapel” — Wizard Chan

Digital Artiste of the Year

• Ayra Starr
• Asake
• BNXN
• Seyi Vibez
• Fola
• Mavo
• Wizkid
• Chella

Next Rated

• Fola
• Shoday
• Llona
• Mavo
• Fido

Afrobeats Album of the Year

• “Morayo” — Wizkid
• “5ive” — Davido
• “No Sign of Weakness” — Burna Boy
• “Captain” — BNXN
• “Fuji” — Adekunle Gold
• “Clarity of Mind” — Omah Lay

Music Video of the Year

• Dammy Twitch — “With You” — Davido
• Jyde Ajala — Wizard Chan
• TG Omori — “Afroculture” — Flavour ft. Baaba Maal
• DK — “Bundle by Bundle” — Burna Boy
• Director Pink — “10 Kilo” — Davido

Best Female Artiste

• Tiwa Savage
• Ayra Starr
• Sewa
• Qing Madi
• Tems
• Teni

Best Male Artiste

• Fola
• Asake
• Mavo
• Wizkid
• Rema
• Burna Boy
• Adekunle Gold

Rookie of the Year

• Priesst
• Danpapa Gta
• Kidd Carder
• Firstklaz
• No11
• OG Abbah
• Amma

Best Inspirational Single

• “Favour” — Lawrence Oyor
• “We Move” — Mercy Chinwo
• “Idinma (You Are Good)” — Sinach
• “No Turning Back 2” — Gaise Baba ft. Lawrence Oyor
• “Amioluwa” — Sunmisola Agbebi ft. Yinka Okeleye
• “Korin Iyin (I Will Praise You)” — EmmaOMG

Best Vocal Performance (Male)

• Magixx — “Winter and Summer”
• Flavour — “Orente”
• Odeal — “Patience”
• Syemca — “Love Egbugomo”
• Tay Iwar — “Bad Belle”
• Adekunle Gold — “I’m Not Done”

Best Vocal Performance (Female)

• Amaeya — “How Do You?”
• Tiwa Savage — “You4Me”
• Sewa — “Lagos Lovin”
• Liya — “Skin to Skin”
• Layefa — “6:35”
• Qing Madi — “Scum Bag”

Best Street-Hop Artiste

• Kashcoming — “All My Money”
• Shallipopi — “Laho”
• Poco Lee — “Hey Jago” ft. Shoday and Rahman Jago
• Famous Pluto — “Na Scra”
• Seyi Vibez — “Shaolin”
• Rybeena — “Gaddem” ft. Shoday
• Tuff King — “Nkemakonam”

International Artiste of the Year

• Shenseea
• Dave
• Gunna
• Jazmine Sullivan
• Tiakola
• Ciara

The Headies Awards continue to celebrate the achievements of artists and the growth of the music industry across Africa.

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