The Headies 2026: Full List of Nominees for the 18th Headies Awards

The race for the 18th edition of The Headies is officially underway. The organizers have unveiled the nominees for the 2026 edition of the African music awards, with 213 nominations spread across 35 categories.

This year’s awards recognize music released and distributed between August 1, 2024 and April 30, 2026, bringing together some of the biggest names in African music alongside a new generation of artists making their mark on the continent’s music scene.

The 18th Headies is themed “Africa to the World” and is scheduled to take place in Toronto, Canada, on October 25, 2026.

Fola leads the 2026 Headies Award nominations list with 10 nods, followed by Omah Lay with eight, while Mavo and Wizkid each have seven. Among female artists, Ayra Starr and Tiwa Savage lead with five nominations apiece.

One of the most prominent songs in the nominations is Davido and Omah Lay’s “With You,” which appears across several major categories, including Song of the Year, Afrobeats Single of the Year, Best Recording, Best Collaboration and Viewers’ Choice.

With the nominations now out, here is the complete list of nominees for The Headies 2026.

Song of the Year

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

Best Male Artiste

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

Best Female Artiste

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

Next Rated

• Fido
• Fola
• Llona
• Mavo
• Shoday
• Zaylevelten

Rookie of the Year

• Amma
• Danpapa GTA
• FirstKlaz
• Kidd Carder
• NO11
• Priesst
• OG Abbah

Album of the Year

• Fola — Catharsis
• Omah Lay — Clarity of Mind
• Erigga — G.O.A.T
• Wizkid — Morayo
• Odumodublvck — The Machine Is Coming
• Tiwa Savage — This One Is Personal
• Burna Boy — No Sign of Weakness

Afrobeats Album of the Year

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

Afrobeats Single of the Year

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

Best Recording of the Year

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

Best Collaboration

• CKay & Mavo — Body (Danz)
• Mavo & Wave$tar — Escaladizzy
• Poco Lee, Shoday & Rahman Jago — Hey Jago
• Fola & Kizz Daniel — Lost
• Odumodublvck & Victony — Pity This Boy
• Davido & Omah Lay — With You
• Mr Eazi & King Promise — See What We’ve Done
• Chief Priest & Spyki — Finally

Best Alternative Song

• Luwa Mp4 & Jeleel! — Cyk Baddie
• Sewa — Lagos Lovin
• Wizard Chan — Oliver
• Blnde — Omo to Sexy
• Wave$tar — Prada Baby
• Obongjayar — Sweet Danger
• Chief Priest, Boypee & Zoro — Summer Adina

Best Alternative Album

• Show Dem Camp — Afrika Magik
• Sewa — Detox
• Boj — Duplicity
• Wizard Chan — Healers Chapel
• Scottyolorin — Olorin Pack
• Zaylevelten — Then 1t Got Crazy

Best R&B Album

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

Best Vocal Performance — Female

• Layefa — 6:35
• Amaeya — How Do You?
• Sewa — Lagos Lovin
• Qing Madi — Scum Bag
• Liya — Skin to Skin
• Tiwa Savage — You4me

Best Vocal Performance — Male

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

Best Street-Hop Artiste

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

Best Rap Single

• Odumodublvck — 2:02PM in London
• Blaqbonez — ACL
• Dremo — Man2Man
• Moshood — PDSTRN
• Tuff King — Nkemakonam
• Zaylevelten & Mavo — Wuse Tu
• Zhus Jdo — John Wick

Lyricist on the Roll

• Blaqbonez — ACL
• Dremo — Man2Man
• Modenine — If You Like Gym with Odumodublvck
• PDSTRN — Moshood
• Ycee — Man2Man Remix with Dremo

Songwriter of the Year

• Adekunle Gold
• Victony
• Wizard Chan
• Fola
• Kunmie
• Amaeya

Producer of the Year

• Magicsticks
• P.Priime
• Ragee
• Sarz
• Tempoe

Best Original Song for Visual Media

• Osas Okonyon & Abbey Wonder — All My Love from Evi
• Funke Akindele & Tolu Obanro — Behind the Scenes from Behind the Scenes
• Oscar Heman-Ackah & 2Baba — Save Me from To Kill a Monkey

Best Inspirational Single

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

Headies Viewers’ Choice

• Ayra Starr — Hot Body
• Mavo — Escaladizzy ft. Wave$tar
• Davido — With You ft. Omah Lay
• Rema — Baby (Is It a Crime)
• Fola — You
• Wizkid — Jogodo with Asake
• Kunmie — Arike

International Artiste of the Year

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

Best Southern African Artiste

• Ciza
• DJ Maphorisa
• Jazzwrld
• Kabza De Small
• Tyla
• Uncle Waffles

Best West African Artiste

• Black Sherif — Ghana
• Himra — Côte d’Ivoire
• KiDi — Ghana
• King Promise — Ghana
• Moliy — Ghana
• Wally B. Seck — Senegal
• Stonebwoy — Ghana

Best East African Artiste

• Abigail Chams — Tanzania
• Bien — Kenya
• Bruce Melodie — Rwanda
• Harmonize — Tanzania
• Joshua Baraka — Uganda

Best North African Artiste

• Balti — Tunisia
• Dystinct — Morocco
• Marwan Moussa — Egypt
• Soolking — Algeria
• Tul8te — Egypt

Best Central African Artiste

• Fally Ipupa — Democratic Republic of Congo
• [additional nominees as listed by the organisers]

African Diaspora-Canadian Artiste

• Debby Friday — Lipsync
• Tôme — CC ft. Alpha P
• Bolu Ajibade — Diana with Friyie
• Nonso Amadi — Dive In
• Rooky Kamiz — Deeper
• Tobi — Out the Mud

Digital Artiste of the Year

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

Music Video of the Year

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

Best Performer — Live

• Adekunle Gold
• Asake
• Ayra Starr
• Johnny Drille
• Ruger

Hall of Fame

• Awilo Longomba

Special Recognition Award

• Cecil Hammond

What stands out from the nominations?

Beyond the individual categories, the 2026 list tells us something interesting about where African music is heading.

There is a clear balance between established superstars and artists who are still building their careers. Fola’s strong showing is perhaps the clearest example, while the Next Rated and Rookie of the Year categories introduce audiences to another layer of artists who could shape the next phase of African music.

There is also a deliberate continental focus. Categories for Southern, Eastern, Western and Northern African artists, alongside the International Artiste and African Diaspora-Canadian categories, reinforce the Headies’ attempt to position itself as an award platform for a broader African music ecosystem rather than a strictly Nigerian one.

And with the ceremony taking place in Toronto under the theme “Africa to the World,” this edition is clearly designed around the growing global footprint of African music.

For fans, the nominations provide plenty of debates to have before October. Meanwhile, for the artists and creatives involved, however, they represent something bigger: another marker of how competitive, diverse and increasingly international Africa’s music industry has become.