FULL LIST: Davido, Wizkid and Burna Boy Lead 2026 Headies Nominations

 Nigerian music heavyweights Davido, Wizkid and Burna Boy are among the biggest names dominating the nominations for the 18th Headies Awards, as organisers unveiled the full list of nominees for the 2026 ceremony.

The nominations, announced on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, feature a mixture of established superstars and some of the fastest-rising artistes in Nigeria's music industry. The awards ceremony is scheduled to take place in Canada.

Davido has secured several nominations, with his collaboration with Omah Lay, “With You,” emerging as one of the biggest contenders of the year. The song is nominated for Song of the Year, Afrobeats Single of the Year, Best Recording of the Year, Best Headies Collaboration and Viewers’ Choice.

Davido's album “5ive” is also nominated for Afrobeats Album of the Year, while he features in the Music Video of the Year category through “10 Kilo” and “With You.” His multiple nominations once again place him among the leading contenders at the awards.

Wizkid is also competing across several major categories. His album “Morayo” is nominated for Afrobeats Album of the Year, while the singer is in contention for Best Male Artiste, Digital Artiste of the Year and Viewers’ Choice.

His collaborations with Asake have also earned major recognition. “MMS” is nominated for Song of the Year, while “Jogodo” is nominated for Afrobeats Single of the Year and Viewers’ Choice. Wizkid is therefore among the artistes with nominations spread across some of the ceremony's most prominent categories.

Burna Boy's “No Sign of Weakness” has been nominated for Afrobeats Album of the Year, while “Bundle by Bundle” is in contention for Afrobeats Single of the Year and Music Video of the Year. Burna Boy is also nominated for Best Male Artiste.

The nominations further demonstrate the continued dominance of Nigeria's biggest Afrobeats stars, while also highlighting the emergence of younger artistes who are beginning to compete alongside established names.

Fola is one of the standout emerging artistes on this year's list. He received nominations in several categories, including Afrobeats Single of the Year for “You,” Best R&B Album for “Catharsis,” Best Recording of the Year, Digital Artiste of the Year, Best Male Artiste, Best Headies Collaboration for “Lost” with Kizz Daniel and Writer of the Year.

Mavo is another rising artiste who made a strong showing. He is nominated for Digital Artiste of the Year, Best Male Artiste, Best Headies Collaboration for “Body (Danz)” with CKay, Rap Single for “Wuse Tu” with Zaylevelten and Viewers’ Choice.

The Next Rated category is also expected to attract significant attention, with Fido, Fola, Llona, Mavo and Shoday competing for the award given to one of the most promising emerging artistes of the year.

Below is the full list of the 2026 Headies nominees released by the organisers:

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

Afrobeats Single of the Year

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

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 at The O2, London (2025)

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 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 Alternative Album

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

Digital Artiste of the Year

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

Next Rated

• Fido
• Fola
• Llona
• Mavo
• Shoday

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

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 Female Artiste

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

Best Male Artiste

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

Rookie of the Year

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

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

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 Vocal Performance (Female)

• Layefa — 6:35
• Amaeya — How Do You?
• Sewa — Lagos Lovin
• Qing Madi — Scum Bag
• Liya — Skin to Skin
• Tiwa Savage — You4Me

Hall of Fame

• Awilo Longomba

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

International Artiste of the Year

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

Writer of the Year

• Adekunle Kosoko (Adekunle Gold) — Many People
• Anthony Ebuka Victor (Victony) — Cough Syrup with BNXN
• Fuayefika Maxwell (Wizard Chan) — Time Traveler
• Odunlami Afolarin Temiloluwa (Fola) — Who Does That?
• Oluwabukunmi Ariyibi Peter (Kunmie)
• Peace Chidinma Amaefula (Amaeya) — How Do You?

Best Headies 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

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

East African Artiste

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

West African Artiste

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

Best Alternative Song

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

North African Artiste

• Balti (Tunisia)
• Dystinct (Morocco)
• Marwan Moussa (Egypt)
• Soolking (Algeria)
• Tul8te (Egypt)

Central African Artiste

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

Rap Single

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

R&B Single

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

Producer of the Year

• Magicsticks — Jogodo by Asake & Wizkid and Real, Vol. 1 by Asake & Wizkid
• P.Priime — MMS by Asake & Wizkid, Baby (Is It a Crime) by Rema, Billionaires Club by Olamide, Darkoo & Wizkid
• Ragee — Hot Body by Ayra Starr
• Sarz — Hot Body by Ayra Starr and Who’s Dat Girl by Ayra Starr ft Rema
• Tempoe — With You by Davido ft Omah Lay and SMH by Joeboy

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

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

Lyricist on the Roll

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

The 2026 nominations underline the changing shape of Nigeria's music industry, with established superstars such as Davido, Wizkid and Burna Boy competing alongside a new generation of artistes including Fola, Mavo, Fido, Shoday and Llona.

The 18th Headies Awards will be held in Canada, with nominees competing across voting and non-voting categories. The ceremony is expected to draw attention from music fans across Nigeria, Africa and the international Afrobeats community.