FOLA, Davido, Wizkid & Omah Lay Lead 2026 Headies Nominations | See The Full List

The 18th Headies Awards will be held in Canada on October 23, 2026, and the organisers have announced the nominees for this year’s ceremony. As expected, some of Nigeria’s biggest music stars and emerging acts feature across the various categories, with several artists earning multiple nominations for their work over the past year.

These are the nominees for the 2026 Headies Awards:

Next Rated

• Fido
• FOLA
• Llona
• Mavo
• Shoday

Song of the Year

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

Best Female Artiste

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

Best Male Artiste

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

Afrobeats Album of the Year

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

Album of the Year

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

Best Performer (Live)

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

Digital Artiste of the Year

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

Best Rap Album

• GOAT – Erigga
• No Excuses – Blaqbonez
• King – Jeriq
• GE3 (The Beginning) – A-Q
• The Machine is Coming – Odumodublvck
• Black Sheepizen – Tuff King

Rookie of The Year

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

Best Recording of the Year

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

Best Original Song For Visual Media

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

Songwriter of the Year

• Adekunle Gold — Many People
• Victony — Cough Syrup with BNXN
• Wizard Chan — Time Traveller
• FOLA — Who Does That?
• Kunmie – Arike
• Amaeya — How Do You?

Best R&B Single

• 6:35 — Layefa
• How Do You? — Amaeya
• I Love You — Amma
• What You Need — Tems
• Winter & Summer — Magixx
• You4Me — Tiwa Savage

Best Rap Single

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

Best Alternative Song

• CYK Baddie — Luwa.mp4 ft Jeleel!
• Lagos Lovin — Sewa
• Oliver — Wizard Chan
• Omo to Sexy — BLNDE
• Prada Baby — Wavestar
• Sweet Danger — Obongjayar
• Summer Adina — Chief Priest ft BoyPee & Zoro Swagbag

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 and Summer
• Odeal — Patience
• Syemca — Love Egbugomo
• Tay Iwar — Bad Belle

Best R&B Album

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

Best Alternative Album

• Afrika Magik — SDC
• Detox — Sewa
• Duplicity — BOJ
• Healers Chapel — Wizard Chan
• Olorin Pack — Scottyolorin
• Then 1t Got Crazy — Zaylevelten

Producer of the Year

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

Music Video of the Year

• Director Pink, for 10 Kilo by Davido
• Dammy Twitch, for With You by Davido
• TG Omori, for Afroculture by Flavour ft Baaba Maal
• Jyde Ajala, for Olamide and Wizkid’s Kai!
• DK, for Bundle by Bundle by Burna Boy

Best Collaboration

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

Best Street-Hop Artiste

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

Afrobeats Single of the Year

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

Lyricist on the Roll

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

Best Inspirational Single

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

Headies Viewers’ Choice

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

Best West African Artiste (Non-Nigerian)

• 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 (DR Congo)
• Ferré Gola (DR Congo)
• Héritier Watanabe (DR Congo)
• Hiro (DR Congo)
• Innoss’B (DR Congo)
• Locko (Cameroon)

BEST 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

International Artiste of the Year

• Ciara
• Dave
• Gunna
• Jazmine Sullivan
• Shenseea

Read more on the 2026 Headies Awards here.

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