The nominees and mentors for the Ivor Novello's all-new Rising Star Award with Apple Music have been unveiled.
The five songwriters and composers nominated for 2020 are Amahla, Carmel Smickersgill, Griff, lullahush and Mysie.
Nile Rodgers, Fraser T Smith, Anna Meredith, Kamille and David Arnold will be this year’s mentors, providing a year-long mentorship of support and guidance to the young nominees.
The Ivors Academy called for public submissions for the Rising Star Award last year, receiving the most applications for any category in the 65-year history of The Ivors. In addition to the record-breaking number of entries, 60 percent were also made by female music creators.
An Ivor Novello Award is particularly important to the industry as it represents peer recognition, with the five nominees announced today chosen by The Ivors Committee: a group of award winning songwriters and composers from across The Ivors Academy’s membership
Nile Rodgers, who is mentoring Amahla, said: ‘The Ivors, in my view, offer amongst the most prestigious accolades that a songwriter can receive anywhere in the world. To be able to get this acknowledgement at such an early stage in your career will be an important catalyst for this incredibly diverse range of new talent. All five of the Rising Star nominees being celebrated by The Ivors Academy and Apple Music have been selected on the strength of their creative talent, and I can’t wait to see them grow and give the world what I hope will be many of the great songs of the future.
Helienne Lindvall, chair, The Ivors Award Committee at The Ivors Academy, said: ‘I’m delighted that The Ivors Academy is working with Apple Music on the brand-new mentorship programme to empower young songwriters and composers. Right now, there are more opportunities but we are also facing more challenges than ever, so it’s more important than ever to support and champion music creators. Starting out in the music industry is notoriously difficult, so it really matters that we nurture songwriters and composers at the beginning of their careers. It’s fantastic that the Rising Star Award with Apple Music is recognising and promoting such extraordinary and inspiring young talent.’
The winner of the Rising Star Award with Apple Music will be announced on 2 September as part of The Ivors 2020.
