Fola leads the nominations for the 18th Headies Awards with 10 nods, as Davido, Wizkid and Burna Boy headline a star-studded field for the 2026 edition.
Organisers unveiled the nominees on Tuesday, August 25, ahead of the October 25 ceremony in Toronto, Canada, themed “Africa to the World.” The awards cover music released between August 1, 2024, and April 30, 2026.
Omah Lay follows Fola with eight nominations, while Wizkid and Mavo have seven each. Davido and Asake secured six apiece.
Davido and Omah Lay’s “With You” competes for Song of the Year, Afrobeats Single of the Year, Best Recording of the Year, Best Headies Collaboration and Viewers’ Choice.
Wizkid is nominated for Song of the Year for “MMS” with Asake and Afrobeats Single of the Year for “Jogodo,” also with Asake. His Morayo album is in contention for Afrobeats Album of the Year, alongside nominations for Digital Artiste of the Year, Best Male Artiste and Viewers’ Choice.
Burna Boy’s “Bundle by Bundle” is nominated for Afrobeats Single and Music Video of the Year, while No Sign of Weakness competes for Afrobeats Album of the Year. He is also in the Best Male Artiste race.
Fola’s nominations include Best R&B Album for Catharsis, Afrobeats Single and Best Recording of the Year for “You,” as well as Digital Artiste of the Year, Best Male Artiste, Best Headies Collaboration for “Lost” with Kizz Daniel, Writer of the Year and Next Rated.
Mavo is also nominated for Next Rated, alongside Fido, Llona, Fola and Shoday. He further competes 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.
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Major categories
Song of the Year nominees are Kunmie’s “Arike,” “Hey Jago” by Poco Lee, Shoday and Rahman Jago, Ayra Starr’s “Hot Body,” Fido’s “Joy Is Coming,” Asake and Wizkid’s “MMS,” and “With You.”
Afrobeats Single of the Year features Rema’s “Fun,” “Jogodo,” Shallipopi’s “Laho,” “With You,” Fola’s “You” and Burna Boy’s “Bundle by Bundle.”
The Best Male Artiste category pits Adekunle Gold, Asake, Fola, Mavo, Rema, Wizkid and Burna Boy against one another. Ayra Starr, Qing Madi, Sewa, Tems, Teni and Tiwa Savage compete for Best Female Artiste.
Afrobeats Album of the Year nominees are 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.
Other categories include Best Performer (Live), Best R&B Album, Best Recording of the Year, Best Alternative Album, Best Street-Hop Artiste, Best Vocal Performance, Best Headies Collaboration, Producer of the Year, Viewers’ Choice and Lyricist on the Roll.
International Artiste of the Year nominees include Ciara, Dave, Gunna, Jazmine Sullivan, Shenseea and Tiakola. The awards also feature regional categories for artistes from East, West, North and Central Africa and the African diaspora.
Congolese music veteran Awilo Longomba will receive the Hall of Fame honour.
The Toronto ceremony marks the Headies’ return to an international venue after the 15th and 16th editions were held in Atlanta in 2022 and 2023. The 17th edition returned to Lagos in 2025 under the theme “Back to Base.”
With Fola leading the pack and the biggest Afrobeats names battling across major categories, attention now shifts to voting ahead of the October 25 ceremony.