http://www.bbc.co.uk/mobile/ents/top...18107224.shtml

Surely there is something seriously wrong with this award now? While I don't don't Adele is a 'decent' songwriter as far as I'm aware lots of co-writers helps progress her work. I doubt this award is for a group effort.

Of course it is. But I think they helped her compose the song rather than write it lyrically. And what she won for is well deserved.

It's not as objectionable as Take That winning the Outstanding Contribution Award (just no) or Ed Sheeran winning 'Best Song Musically and Lyrically' for The A Team (he does have some good songs but The A Team is not one of them).

That last bit shocked me, I get it lyrically, but RITD is so superior musically. Take THAT? WHa?

Another award that now has lost any credability, if it had any to start with.
To win any songwriting award you have to write your own songs not have an army of professional songwriters write them for you. But these days even dotting a "i" and crossing a "t" will win you a british songwriting award.

It seems these days, writing about the same thing over and over again makes you a brilliant songwriter.

First Taylor Swift with her ridiculously boring love and heartbreak songs, and now Adele with her bitter and slightly obsessive break-up ballads, most of which she didn't write on her own...the best songwriters are the ones who can cover a range of styles and still make it work. Ester Dean is one.

Just lazy. Awarded by people who can't be arsed to look outside the top 20 for decent songwriting.

Well done to Adele, richly deserved.

I remember when the spice girls won and gary barlow said it cheapened the award lily allen also won one I think she also has co-writers it's makes a mokery really when you've got the likes of phil collins and annie lennox who can write songs.
It's like beyonce and mariah I know they co-write their own songs mariah in particular is very hands on however i'd like to see these people write a song all by themselves lyrics and melody just something I feel strongly about as a songwriter myself.

I suppose they had to award Adele with something as it would have looked like a snub otherwise.. And since the other top categories had already been decided they shoehorned her into best songwriter category which was still vacant, thereby ticking the box. But as she only co-wrote the songs it does make the Ivor Novellos look a bit of a charade. There were one or two strange choices for winners this year. Did Take That really deserve their award?

I don't understand how P.J.Harvey can win the Album Novello award for the staggeringly brilliant Let England Shake but those songs are not enough for her to win the awartd for songwriting as well.

it's a popularity contest these days.

I just love that when I google 'Ivor Novello Awards', it's Adele's picture that is shown.

Because she's relatively unknown and hasn't had any hit singles afaik, which I'm afraid is considered important for award recognition.. But I'm glad she won the best album category. She should have got a Grammy for that, not Adele.

They didn't have to award her anything you could say the same of Pj Harvey who has won the more serious awards all year with england stop being so cynical perhaps they thought she deserved it.

How would anyone dare to laugh? All of the winners deserve their awards in these kind of professional voted award ceremonies! Adele wrote about 60% of the lyrics for this album (if you count all songs together) and about 80% for her first album 19, that's what she said herself in one interview! She also said that she won't ever write another break-up song again, and that she'll do as much as possible by herself for her next album (it'll be released circa 2014 I think).

good to see you raging again, the critical acclaim and commercial success keeps rolling in for adele

Adele accepted the award with her co-writer Paul Epworth and gave him credit.

Most of the songs on "21" are written by Adele and one other person. She also wrote 6 of the 12 tracks on "19" on her own, teamed up with one other songwriter on 4 tracks, leaving the one track with five writers and a cover. If I'm not mistaken, Taylor Swift wrote about half of her debut album and second album with one or more other writers yet you're giving Adele a hard time for writing with someone on hers. I wouldn't really criticise another artist for doing something that your favourite has also done twice in her career. At least Adele wrote a track like "Hometown Glory" on her own and managed to not have it sound like a diary entry of a 12 year old nerd who still believes in fairy tales.

But then Taylor Swift is never exactly going to win any renowned songwriting awards with:

That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles,
And my daddy said, "Stay away from Juliet"
And I was crying on the staircase
Begging you, "Please don't go"
And I said...

or


She's not a saint
And she's not what you think
She's an actress, whoa
She's better known
For the things that she does
On the mattress, whoa
Soon she's gonna find
Stealing other people's toys
On the playground won't
Make you many friends
She should keep in mind
She should keep in mind
There is nothing I do better than revenge


*swiftly swallows vomit*

And another award that has been proven to be totally worthless now, like many awards they are down valued due to the people that receive them, no bigger example of that here. If they wanted to give out an award then it should have been given to her army of songwriters, but as someone else stated, they had to fit her in somewhere, pretty lame really.

Well said! And did you notice how GL completely ignores that Taylor Swift uses co-writers in her very next post?! That is hilarious! Cause admitting that would make her look like a complete fool and ass rolled up as one huge hypocrite.

Take your hate somewhere else. Its getting boring now.

Why is everyone assuming adele co-wrote because she's musically incapable of writing by herself? We don't know what goes on in the studio or how much she contributes, but it's her album with her name on the cover and obviously all the people who bought it think its a good album so I don't understand the problem with that being recognized by a songwriting award

A big part of music is collaboration so why are people being so uptight about it, at least she contributes! I've seen comments calling the show a popularity contest but if she hadn't won anything people would have called it pretentious and a "credibility" contest. I know not everyone is going to agree with every award given out but that album connected with a lot of people and for me personally, THAT is what songwriting is really about and so it should be recognized.

Adele is a talented songwriter, and yes, she has co-writers but they acknowledge her ability as a songwriter.

She wrote (completely unaided) Hometown Glory at age 16 so I really don't think there is any question that she is an unbelievably talented songwriter. She's just lucky in that she's also an unbelievably talented singer as well, lol. The full package, in other words. Rare as rocking horse droppings...

exactly! it doesn't matter if you don't write all the parts, she's being acknowledged for the excellence of her contribution. it's like saying Lennon/McCartney, Marr/Morrissey, Strummer/Jones (name your own fave combo) aren't good songwriters cos a lot of their best work was a collaboration....that's how music gets made

And ive had enough of Adele threads now, they all end up the same so i'll leave it there