Lily Allen and Dizzee Rascal will lead a roll call of British nominees at this year's Ivor Novello awards. Allen has been named in two categories, both for her number one single The Fear, while rapper Dizzee Rascal has been nominated for Best Contemporary Song (Bonkers) and Album award (Tongue N'Cheek).
But there was a surprise nomination, once again, for Nick Hemming. The former warehouse worker received an unexpected nomination for the first time at last year's awards when he was a virtual unknown. This year, his song Save It For Someone Who Cares has been shortlisted for Best Song Musically and Lyrically, the same category as his previous nomination.
La Roux, Bat for Lashes and Paolo Nutini have also been named in the nominations list. The Duckworth Lewis Method, the album by ex-Divine Comedy frontman Neil Hannon and Thomas Walsh, has been shortlisted in the Album award category. The pair said of their nomination:
"We, the Duckworth Lewis Method, are politely jubilant to be nominated in the best album category of this year's Ivor Novello awards. What joy! What honour! Our hippopotamusly titled debut album really was as fun to make as it sounds. And it is to the eternal credit of this august, nay, July institution that 'a record about cricket' should be afforded the same opportunities as its less niche compatriots."
The awards were established in 1955 in honour of composer and songwriter Ivor Novello and seek to recognise the best British artists in both fields. This year sees the introduction of a new category, Best Original Video Game Score. Committee member Mark Fishlock said of the category:
"The Ivors has always sought to reflect the ever-changing world of songwriting and composing. The video games market has matured beyond recognition and big budget orchestral scores are regularly being commissioned. Writing music for games also requires a number of specialist skills compared with conventional film scoring, such as non-linear and multi-layered composition."
The awards will be held on 20 May 2010.
