NME Awards winners

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influential figure in popular music. With estimated sales of 124 million records, she is one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Publications such as Billboard and Rolling Stone have ranked her among the greatest artists in history.

Taylor Alison Swift is an American singer-songwriter. An influential figure in popular culture, she is known for her autobiographical songwriting and artistic reinventions. Swift is the highest-grossing live music artist, the wealthiest female musician, and one of the best-selling music artists of all time.

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. Known for her vocal ability, artistic reinventions, and live performances, she is widely regarded as one of the most culturally significant figures of the 21st century. Credited with shaping popular music, Beyoncé is often deemed one of the greatest entertainers of all time.

Sir James Paul McCartney is an English musician and songwriter. He gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he was the bassist and keyboardist, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. McCartney is known for his melodic approach to bass-playing, versatile tenor vocal range and musical eclecticism, exploring genres ranging from pre-rock and roll pop to classical, ballads and electronica. His songwriting partnership with Lennon is the most successful in music history.

Paramore is an American rock band formed in Franklin, Tennessee, in 2004. Since 2017, the band's lineup has included lead vocalist Hayley Williams, lead guitarist Taylor York, and drummer Zac Farro. Williams and Farro are founding members of the group, while York, a high school friend of the original lineup, joined in 2007.

British rock band

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (; born 5 May 1988) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as a British cultural icon, she is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. Her accolades include 16 Grammy Awards, 12 Brit Awards (including three for British Album of the Year), an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award.

Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrumentals and aggressive musicianship made them one of the founding "big four" bands of thrash metal, alongside Megadeth, Anthrax, and Slayer. Metallica's current lineup comprises founding members and primary songwriters Hetfield and Ulrich, longtime lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, and bassist Robert Trujillo. Former members of the band are bassists Ron McGovney, Cliff B

Kylie Ann Minogue is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and the fashion world as a major style icon. Her accolades include two Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards and eighteen ARIA Music Awards. Minogue is the highest-selling Australian female artist of all time, with sales surpassing 80 million records worldwide. In 2024, Time included her in its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010. The band consists of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook, who co-write or co-produce much of their material. Originally a hip hop group, they expanded their musical style to incorporate a wide range of genres, while their lyrics have focused on subjects including mental health, the troubles of school-age youth and coming of age, loss, the journey towards self-love, individualism and the consequences of fame and recognition. Their discography and adjacent work has also referenced literature, philosophy

Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell is an American singer-songwriter. Eilish first gained public attention in 2015 with her debut single "Ocean Eyes" which was released on SoundCloud and written and produced by her brother Finneas O'Connell. In 2017, she released her debut EP, Don't Smile at Me, which was commercially successful in various countries, including the US, UK, and Australia.

Dua Lipa is an English singer and songwriter. Her accolades include seven Brit Awards and three Grammy Awards.

Ye is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He has been listed among the greatest rappers of all time and referred to as one of the most prominent figures in hip-hop. His music, characterized by frequent stylistic shifts, has been credited with facilitating the emergence of rappers who did not conform to gangster rap conventions. He is also known for his controversial public persona, including his polarizing cultural and political commentary.

English-Irish musical group; boy band

Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion; manager Phil Harvey is also credited as a full member. The group are best known for their live performances and have had a significant impact on popular culture.

American rock band from California

Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, keyboards); the brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass); Ed O'Brien (guitar, backing vocals); and Philip Selway (drums). They have worked with the producer Nigel Godrich and the cover artist Stanley Donwood since 1994. Radiohead's experimental approach is credited with advancing the sound of alternative rock.

Jared Joseph Leto is an American actor and musician. Known for his method acting in a variety of roles, he has received numerous accolades over a career spanning three decades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. Additionally, he is recognized for his musicianship and eccentric stage persona as frontman of the rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars.

Sir Idrissa Akuna Elba is an English actor, DJ, and rapper. He has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for three BAFTA Awards and six Emmy Awards. He was named in the Time 100 list of the Most Influential People in the World in 2016. His films have grossed over $9.8 billion at the global box office, making him one of the top 20 highest-grossing actors. In 2025, Elba was named as the UK's ninth-most influential Black person in the 2026 Powerlist.

English rock band

Harry Edward Styles is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. An influential figure in popular culture, he is known for his showmanship, artistry, and flamboyant fashion. Styles's musical career began in 2010 as part of One Direction, a boy band formed on the British music competition series The X Factor after each member of the band had been eliminated from the solo contest. They became one of the best-selling boy bands of all time before going on an indefinite hiatus in 2016. Styles released his eponymous debut solo album through Erskine and Columbia Records in 2017, which was led by the UK number-one single "Sign of the Times".

British rock band

American rock musician

Lily Rose Beatrice Allen is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. Her accolades include a Brit Award as well as nominations for a Grammy Award and a Laurence Olivier Award.

British band

English musical group; rock band

American rock band

American musical group; rock band

American singer-songwriter and musician (born 1981)

American rap metal band

Scottish electronic music producer and DJ (born 1984)

Charlotte Emma Aitchison, known professionally as Charli XCX, is a British singer, songwriter and actress. She began posting songs on Myspace in 2008 before entering the London rave scene. Signing a recording contract with Asylum Records in 2010, Charli XCX released a series of singles and mixtapes in the early 2010s. In 2012, she was featured on "I Love It" by Swedish duo Icona Pop, which became her first number-one song in the UK and received global success, but her debut studio album, True Romance (2013), failed to meet commercial expectations.

American rock band

Hayley Nichole Williams is an American singer and songwriter. She is the lead vocalist and a founding member of the rock band Paramore and has released several solo albums.

Australian rapper (born 1990)

American new wave band (1974–)

English alternative rock band

Scottish rock band from Glasgow

British singer and guitarist

British indie rock band

British rock band

British-born Irish-American singer and songwriter

British synth-pop duo

English singer-songwriter, member of Muse

The Strokes are an American rock band formed in New York City in 1998. The band is composed of lead singer and primary songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio Moretti. They were a leading group of the early-2000s garage rock revival and post-punk revival movements.

British singer and rapper (born 1975)

British musician (born 1986)

English singer-songwriter

American singer, songwriter, and rapper

Canadian indie rock band

Australian pop rock band

American rock band

Damon Albarn is an English musician. He is the main vocalist and lyricist of the rock band Blur and the co-creator and primary musical contributor of the virtual band Gorillaz.

British musician (born 1963)

Scottish rock band

American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actress

English rock band

Kasabian ( ) are an English rock band formed in Leicester in 1997 by lead vocalist Tom Meighan, guitarist and second vocalist Sergio Pizzorno, guitarist Chris Karloff and bassist Chris Edwards. Drummer Ian Matthews joined in 2004. Karloff left the band in 2006 and founded a new band called Black Onassis. Jay Mehler joined as touring lead guitarist in 2006, leaving for Liam Gallagher's Beady Eye in 2013, to be replaced by Tim Carter, who later became a full-time band member in 2021. Meighan left the band in July 2020, with Pizzorno stepping up as full-time lead vocalist.

Welsh rock band

British electronic music duo