Rising star Fola leads the 18th Headies nominations with 10 nods, followed by Omah Lay with eight, while Ayra Starr and other Nigerian music heavyweights also feature prominently. The awards, themed “Africa to the World,” are scheduled to take place in Toronto, Canada, on October 25, 2026.

Afrobeats stars Fola, Ayra Starr, Mavo and Omah Lay are the frontliners in the Headies 18th edition.

Rising Nigerian singer Fola has emerged as the leading nominee for the 18th edition of The Headies, securing 10 nominations as the organisers unveiled the nominees for the 2026 awards on Tuesday.

Fola’s nominations span several major categories, including Album of the Year, Best Male Artiste, Digital Artiste of the Year, Best R&B Album, Best Recording of the Year and Next Rated, following the success of his debut album, Catharsis. His nominations place him ahead of some of Africa’s biggest music stars and underline the growing presence of a new generation of Nigerian artistes on the continent’s biggest award platforms.

Omah Lay follows with eight nominations, while Mavo and Wizkid each received seven. Davido and Asake are also among the leading nominees with six nominations apiece. Ayra Starr and Tiwa Savage lead the female nominees with five nominations each.

The 18th Headies, themed “Africa to the World,” is scheduled to be held in Toronto, Canada, on October 25, 2026. The international staging continues the awards’ effort to position African music on a wider global platform after previous editions were held outside Nigeria.

Leading New Generation

Fola’s strong showing is one of the biggest talking points from this year’s nominations, particularly as he competes alongside established names for some of the ceremony’s biggest prizes.

His Catharsis album earned recognition in both Album of the Year and Best R&B Album, while “You” was nominated for Song of the Year, Afrobeats Single of the Year, Best Recording of the Year and Viewers’ Choice.

Omah Lay’s eight nominations also reflect the impact of his recent releases, with his collaboration with Davido, “With You,” featuring prominently across the nominations. The song is in contention for Song of the Year, Afrobeats Single of the Year, Best Recording of the Year, Best Collaboration, Music Video of the Year and Viewers’ Choice.

Mavo, another emerging name, also secured seven nominations, reinforcing the growing influence of younger artistes alongside established stars such as Wizkid, Davido, Burna Boy and Asake.

The Next Rated category further reflects this changing landscape, with Fido, Fola, Llona, Mavo and Shoday competing for the award given to an emerging artiste considered to have the potential for mainstream success. The official Headies description says the category recognises an artiste poised for mainstream superstardom.

Major Categories Feature Top African Stars

The Song of the Year category features six contenders: Kunmie’s “Arike,” Poco Lee, Shoday and Rahman Jago’s “Hey Jago,” Ayra Starr’s “Hot Body,” Fido’s “Joy Is Coming,” Asake and Wizkid’s “MMS,” and Davido and Omah Lay’s “With You.”

The Afrobeats Single of the Year category includes Rema’s “Fun,” Asake and Wizkid’s “Jogodo,” Shallipopi’s “Laho,” Davido and Omah Lay’s “With You,” Fola’s “You,” and Burna Boy’s “Bundle by Bundle.”

The Afrobeats Album of the Year race is equally competitive, with Davido’s 5ive, BNXN’s Captain, Omah Lay’s Clarity of Mind, Adekunle Gold’s Fuji, Wizkid’s Morayo and Burna Boy’s No Sign of Weakness nominated.

For Album of the Year, Catharsis by Fola, Tiwa Savage’s This One Is Personal, Wizkid’s Morayo, Burna Boy’s No Sign of Weakness, Omah Lay’s Clarity of Mind, Erigga’s G.O.A.T and Odumodublvck’s The Machine Is Coming are among the contenders.

The Best Male Artiste category features Adekunle Gold, Asake, Fola, Mavo, Rema, Wizkid and Burna Boy, while the Best Female Artiste category has Ayra Starr, Qing Madi, Sewa, Tems, Teni and Tiwa Savage.

Davido and Omah Lay’s “With You” is one of the most prominent songs in this year’s nominations, appearing in several major categories.

The track competes for Song of the Year, Afrobeats Single of the Year, Best Recording of the Year, Best Collaboration and Viewers’ Choice, while its music video is also nominated for Music Video of the Year.

Other notable categories include Best Performer (Live), where Adekunle Gold, Asake, Ayra Starr, Johnny Drille and Ruger are nominated.

The Best R&B Album category features Kunmie’s Before We Became Strangers, Fola’s Catharsis, Qing Madi’s I Am the Blueprint, Tems’ Love Is a Kingdom, Tay Iwar’s Reflection Station and Tiwa Savage’s This One Is Personal.

Longomba, Hammond To Receive Special Honours

The 18th Headies will also recognise two prominent figures for their contributions to African entertainment.

Congolese music legend Awilo Longomba will be inducted into the Headies Hall of Fame, an honour reserved for individuals of African descent who have demonstrated outstanding impact on the continent’s entertainment industry.

Nigerian entertainment executive Cecil Hammond will receive the Special Recognition Award for his contribution to African entertainment.

The honours add a continental dimension to an edition that is already emphasising the global reach of African music.

Global Footprint Expansion

The 18th edition comes after the 17th Headies returned to Nigeria following two consecutive editions in Atlanta, United States.

The 17th ceremony, themed “Back to Base,” was held at the Landmark Event Centre in Lagos on April 27, 2025. It saw Rema’s Heis win Album of the Year and Afrobeats Album of the Year, while Odumodublvck won the Next Rated award and Zerry DL emerged as Rookie of the Year. Tems won Best Recording of the Year for “Burning”, while Davido took home Digital Artiste of the Year.

The ceremony also honoured the late singer Mohbad, whose collaboration with Chike, “Egwu,” won both Best Music Video and Viewers’ Choice, while Mohbad received the Best Street-Hop Artiste award posthumously.

However, the 17th edition was affected by technical and scheduling problems, with several categories left without on-night announcements. Reports said the ceremony ended before awards including Best Collaboration, Best R&B Single, Best Rap Album and Best Performer (Live) could be presented.

With the 18th edition now moving to Toronto, the organisers are once again taking the Headies beyond Nigeria, this time under the broader theme “Africa to the World.”

According to the organisers, the eligibility period covers singles, videos, EPs and albums released and distributed on digital streaming platforms between August 1, 2024, and April 30, 2026. The awards include both voting and non-voting categories, with the latter determined by judges.

The 2026 nominations comprise 213 nominations across 35 categories, bringing together established African stars, emerging artistes and international acts. The International Artiste of the Year category includes Ciara, Dave, Gunna, Jazmine Sullivan, Shenseea and Tiakola.

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 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

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)

NORTH AFRICAN ARTISTE

Balti (Tunisia)

Dystinct (Morocco)

Marwan Moussa (Egypt)

Soolking (Algeria)

Tul8te (Egypt)

Stonebwoy (Ghana)

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 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

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
10 Kilo (Davido) — Director Pink

Afroculture (Flavour, Baaba Maal) — TG Omori

Bundle by Bundle (Burna Boy) — DK

Kai (Olamide, Wizkid) — Jyde Ajala

Whos Dat Girl (Ayra Starr, Rema) — Meji Alabi

With You (Davido, Omah Lay) — Dammy Twitch

BEST RAP ALBUM
Tuff King – Black Sheepizen

AQ- GE3

Erigga – G.O.A.T

Jeriq – King

Blaqbonez – No excuses

Odumodublvck – The machine is coming

BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE (FEMALE)
LAYEFA – 6:35

AMAEYA – How do you?

Sewa – Lagos Lovin

Qing Madi – Scumbag

Liya – Skin to Skin

Tiwa Savage – You4me

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 VOCAL PERFORMANCE (MALE)
Adekunle Gold – Im not done

Flavour – Orente

Magixx – Winter & Summer

Odeal – Patience

Syemca – Love Egbugomo

Tay Iwar – Bad Belle

INTERNATIONAL ARTISTE OF THE YEAR
Ciara

Dave

GUNNA

Jazmine Sullivan

SHENSEEA

TIAKOLA

BEST SOUTHERN AFRICAN ARTIST
CIZA

DJ MAPHORISA

JAZZWRLD

KABZA DE SMALL

TYLA

UNCLE WAFFLES

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

BEST RAP SINGLE
2:02PM in London — ODUMODUBLVCK

ACL — Blaqbonez

Man2Man — Dremo

PDSTRN — Moshood

Nkemakonam — Tuff King

Wuse Tu — Zaylevelten, Mavo

John Wick — Zhus Jdo

BEST FEMALE ARTISTE
Ayra Starr

QING MADI

SEWA

Tems

Teni

Tiwa Savage

BEST MALE ARTISTE
Adekunle Gold

Asake

FOLA

MAVO

Rema

Wizkid

Burna Boy

SONG WRITER OF THE YEAR
Adekunle Gold

Victony

WIZARD CHAN

FOLA

KUNMIE

AMAEYA

BEST STREET HOP ARTISTE
FAMOUS PLUTO

KASHCOMING

POCO LEE

SEYI VIBEZ

SHALLIPOPI

TUFF KING

RYBEENA

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

NEXT RATED
FIDO

FOLA

LLONA

MAVO

SHODAY

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
MAGICSTICKS

P. PRIIME

RAGEE

SARZ

TEMPOE

Ruger – Live at Indigo at The O2, 2025

DIGITAL ARTISTE OF THE YEAR
Asake

Ayra Starr

BNXN

Chella

FOLA

MAVO

Seyi Vibez

Wizkid

AFROBEATS SINGLE OF THE YEAR
Rema – Fun

Wizkid, Asake – Jogodo

Fido – Joy is Coming

Davido, Omah Lay – With You

Fola – You

Burna Boy – Bundle by Bundle