The prolific songwriter has had songs recorded by Ed Sheeran, BTS, P!nk, Robbie Williams, Alicia Keys and many more.
Johnny McDaid, who rose to prominence as a member of the alternative rock band Snow Patrol and has achieved great success as a collaborator for Ed Sheeran and others, will be presented with the BMI President’s Award at the 2026 BMI London Awards, which will be held Sept.
28 at The Dorchester in London. The private event will be hosted by BMI CEO Mike O’Neill; executive vp/chief revenue & creative officer Mike Steinberg; and vice president of worldwide creative Barbara Cane.
McDaid, 50, is one of the most successful songwriters, musicians and producers of the modern era, with songs recorded by artists including Sheeran, BTS, P!nk, Robbie Williams, Alicia Keys, Lewis Capaldi, Jung Kook, Weezer, Shawn Mendes, David Guetta and Kelly Clarkson.
Originally from Derry, Northern Ireland, McDaid moved to London in his teens, busking on the streets while refining a craft that would later define his global career.
His collaborations with Sheeran include “Shape of You,” the first song in Spotify history to reach 2 billion streams and now at more than 5 billion. The track spent 12 consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 and 14 weeks at No.
1 on the Official U. K. Singles Chart, is certified 13 times platinum by the RIAA, has amassed 8. 8 billion YouTube views and was named Apple Music’s most-streamed song of the decade.
Other hit collaborations with Sheeran include “Photograph,” “Shivers” and “Bad Habits.”.
McDaid has received two Grammy nods in marquee categories for his work with Sheeran — album of the year in 2015 as a songwriter on X and song of the year in 2022 for “Bad Habits.” McDaid is also a two-time Ivor Novello winner, has 17 BMI Awards and received the BMI pop and London song of the year in 2018 for “Shape of You” and BMI London song of the year in 2022 for “Bad Habits.”.
McDaid recently co-wrote “Bottle Up” for the Backstreet Boys and “Animal” for KATSEYE. The latter song debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard Global 200 chart and surpassed 10 million YouTube views within just two days of release.
Previous recipients of the BMI President’s Award include Benny Blanco, Luis Fonsi, Noel Gallagher, Ellie Goulding, Imagine Dragons, Jay Kay of Jamiroquai, Ludacris, P!nk, Willie Nelson, Pitbull, T-Pain, Fraser T.
Smith, Taylor Swift, Brian Wilson and Dwight Yoakam.
The Sept. 28 ceremony will also pay tribute to the British and European songwriters and publishers of the previous year’s most-performed songs on U. S. streaming, radio, film, television and visual media from BMI’s repertoire of over 25 million musical works.
The BMI London song of the year; Million-Air Awards; and awards for pop, theatrical film, streaming series and network television music will also be presented throughout the evening.
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