The Headies 2026: Fola Leads With 10 Nominations, Wizkid, Mavo and Omah Lay Among Biggest Contenders
By Emmanuel Daniji
The organisers of the Headies Awards have unveiled the nomination list for the 18th edition of the prestigious Nigerian music awards, with rising star Fola emerging as the biggest nominee.
The 2026 edition, themed “Africa to the World,” features 213 nominations across the various categories and reflects the changing face of Nigerian music, with established stars sharing the spotlight with a new generation of artistes.
Fola leads the pack with 10 nominations, making him the most nominated artiste at this year’s ceremony. His nominations include major categories such as Song of the Year, Best Recording of the Year, Best R&B Album, Digital Artiste of the Year, Next Rated, Best Male Artiste and Afrobeats Single of the Year.
Omah Lay follows closely with eight nominations, while Wizkid and Mavo each received seven nominations. Their strong presence across the major categories makes them some of the biggest contenders for the night.
Among female artistes, Tiwa Savage and Ayra Starr lead with five nominations each. Both artistes are represented across several major categories, reinforcing their position among the leading female voices in contemporary African music.
The nominations also highlight a strong mix of established superstars and emerging artistes. Davido, Burna Boy, Asake, Rema, Tems, BNXN, Shallipopi, Adekunle Gold, Kunmie, Fido, Shoday and Qing Madi are among the artistes competing across major categories.
In the Song of the Year category, nominees include Davido and Omah Lay’s With You, Ayra Starr’s Hot Body, Kunmie’s Arike, Fido’s Joy Is Coming, Poco Lee and Shoday’s Hey Jago, Rahman Jago’s Rahman Jago and Asake and Wizkid’s MMS.
The Afrobeats Single of the Year category features some of the biggest records of the period, including Fola’s You, Asake and Wizkid’s Jogodo, Davido and Omah Lay’s With You, Burna Boy’s Bundle by Bundle, Rema’s Fun and Shallipopi’s Laho.
The Afrobeats Album of the Year category is equally competitive, with Wizkid’s Morayo, Davido’s 5ive, Burna Boy’s No Sign of Weakness, BNXN’s Captain, Adekunle Gold’s Fuji and Omah Lay’s Clarity of Mind competing for the honour.
One of the categories expected to generate significant interest is Next Rated, which features Fola, Shoday, Llona, Mavo and Fido. The category has historically served as one of the Headies’ biggest platforms for identifying the next major stars of Nigerian music.
The Best Male Artiste category pits Fola against established names including Asake, Mavo, Wizkid, Rema, Burna Boy and Adekunle Gold, while the Best Female Artiste category features Tiwa Savage, Ayra Starr, Sewa, Qing Madi, Tems and Teni.
Street music also gets strong representation in the Best Street-Hop Artiste category, with Kashcoming, Shallipopi, Poco Lee, Famous Pluto, Seyi Vibez, Rybeena and Tuff King competing for the award.
The Headies has also maintained its international outlook with the International Artiste of the Year category, which features Shenseea, Dave, Gunna, Jazmine Sullivan, Tiakola and Ciara.
The 2026 ceremony is scheduled to hold on October 25, 2026, in Toronto, Canada, continuing The Headies’ recent push to position the Nigerian music awards as a global celebration of African music.
With Fola’s remarkable 10 nominations, Omah Lay’s eight and seven each for Wizkid and Mavo, the 18th Headies is already shaping up to be a major contest between Nigeria’s established heavyweights and the new generation fighting to take their place at the top.
