Zayn Malik and James Bay will go head to head to claim the Song Of The Year title for their self-written tracks at the BMI London Awards next week.
Malik’s Pillowtalk and Bay’s Let It Go have both been tipped for the prize, along with DJ Paleface and Kyla for their contributions to Drake’s One Dance, Ed Sheeran for writing Justin Bieber’s Love Yourself, and Alexander Palmer for writing Dierks Bentley’s Somewhere On A Beach.
Sheeran claimed last year’s award with Thinking Out Loud, while Sam Smith took the crown in 2015 for Stay With Me.
The prize is given out for the most performed song of the year by UK or European writers in the BMI catalogue on US television and radio stations.
Pillowtalk shot to number one in the US Billboard Hot 100 last year, making Malik the first previous member of a chart-topping all-male band (One Direction) to claim the top spot with a debut single since ex-Beatle George Harrison with My Sweet Lord in 1970.
Meanwhile, Let It Go went straight to the Billboard Hot 100’s top 20 following its 2014 release and was performed at the 2016 Grammy Awards, where Bay was nominated as best new artist.
The award will be presented during a ceremony in the capital’s glamorous Dorchester Hotel on Monday, which will also see Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kay handed the President’s Award for his influence on songwriting.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here