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:
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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.
The post FOLA, Davido, Wizkid, Omah Lay Lead 2026 Headies Nominations. See The Full List! appeared first on BellaNaija - Showcasing Africa to the world. Read today!.