Charli XCX wins songwriter of the year as U2 and Robbie Williams receive lifetime honours at Ivors.
Charli XCX delivered a dose of humility, humour, and hyperpop flair as she was crowned Songwriter of the Year at the 2025 Ivor Novello Awards in London. Standing before an audience that included Bruce Springsteen and Robbie Williams, the Brat artist downplayed her lyrical gravitas. “I’m hardly Bob Dylan,” she quipped, before reading from her own 2024 club anthem Club Classics: “I wanna dance to me, me, me / When I go to the club, club, club.”
The tongue-in-cheek moment masked the critical acclaim behind Brat, her sixth studio album, which became a cultural touchstone of summer 2024. Packed with dancefloor energy and raw emotional introspection, the record grappled with themes like friendship, motherhood, and self-worth. “I’ve never thought a great song alone was enough,” Charli said. “It’s about identity, conviction, and point of view.”
Across the ceremony, other standout winners included U2, honoured as the first Irish band to receive the Ivors Academy Fellowship. Accepting the award, Bono praised music’s power to “pierce the hardest armour of the human heart” and reflected on the band’s nearly 50-year journey. Drummer Larry Mullen Jr added levity, recalling their first rejection letter from CBS Records, which offered them a deal—if they fired him.
Robbie Williams was visibly emotional accepting the Icon Award, celebrating a 34-year career from Take That to Angels. Speaking backstage, he wrestled with conflicting emotions. “It’s self-doubt and self-hatred mixed with ego and delusion,” he said, before settling on: “I am very grateful.”
The Rising Star Award went to 24-year-old Lola Young, whose hit Messy made waves in the past year. “This is for the kid in my bedroom writing songs at 10,” she said, revealing she’d just shot 12 videos in a single day for her upcoming album.
Meanwhile, Myles Smith earned the Most Performed Work prize for Stargazing, recounting how he first heard it on the radio in a New York Uber: “I told the driver, ‘This is me’—he could not care less. It kept me grounded.”
The awards also shone a light on strong independent voices. Orla Gartland won Best Song Musically and Lyrically for Mine, a ballad about reclaiming bodily autonomy after trauma. “I don’t think a boardroom full of old men would have known what to do with this,” the Irish singer said.
Self Esteem took home the Visionary Award, using her speech to call out misogyny in music. “People are foaming at the mouth to ridicule you,” she said. But her moment of triumph was personal too: “Sorry Mum and Dad about the swearing—and all the songs about shagging.”
Bloc Party, staples of the 2000s indie scene, received the Outstanding Song Collection award, while Berwyn’s autobiographical Who Am I won Best Album. Sans Soucis took Best Contemporary Song for Circumnavigating Georgia, and Brandon Flowers of The Killers was handed the Special International Award by none other than Springsteen himself.
Other honours included John Konsolakis for Farewell North (Best Video Game Score), Vince Pope for True Detective: Night Country (Best TV Soundtrack), and Raffertie for the film score to The Substance.
As the evening wrapped, the Ivors reinforced the message that true songwriting isn’t just about craft—it’s about conviction, vulnerability, and the courage to be authentic. For Charli XCX, that might mean putting chaos to a beat, but it’s a formula that resonated far beyond the club.
