BEVERLY HILLS, CA (LA ELEMENTS) 5/15/2026 -“Listen, we will always, always have your back,” said BMI Executive Vice President, Chief Revenue & Creative Officer Michael Steinberg in his opening remarks at the 2026 BMI Pop Awards. “We are fighting for every cent of the royalties you have earned; on Capitol Hill we are fighting for laws that protect everything you do. And in this new age of AI, which so far has yet to write a chorus that made anyone cry, we are still fighting to make sure that human creativity, your creativity, is never devalued and never taken for granted because nothing can ever replace what the people in this room do. And we won’t let it. That is what it means to be part of the BMI family. Thank you for your trust, for your talent and for spending this night with us.”
Held at the historic Beverly Wilshire Hotel on May 12, 2026, the BMI Pop Awards celebrated the songwriters of 2025’s top hits, the top music publishing company of the year and the stellar career of the legendary singer/songwriter Paul Anka.
“When you’re the writer, the door opens,” said Anka, who was named a BMI Icon during the evening’s ceremonies. “When I went to New York and saved enough money and I walked into ABC Paramount, I had a bunch of songs in my pocket and only because I was the writer, was I able to even get in that door. And that tells all of us here, and I’ve never forgotten it, the process that we’re all enjoining is a process that starts with a song. It always has been.”
Anka treated the capacity crowd of music industry hitmakers and executives to a deeply emotional performance of “My Way,” a song turned into a classic by such legendary performers as Frank Sinatra and Elvis Pressley. As the newest BMI icon honoree, he joins an elite group of songwriters who have received BMI’s highest honor for their “unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers.” A group that includes Carlos Santana, Carole King, John Fogerty, Mike Stoller among others.
This year there was a tie for the BMI Pop Songwriter of the Year between Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter. Each songstress has the distinction of writing six of the most-performed songs of the past year. For Swift “But Daddy I Love Him,” “Florida!!!”, “Guilty as Sin?,” “My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys,” “So Long London,” and “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived,” earned her third consecutive and sixth career win.
Carpenter’s award-winning hits include “Bad Chem,” “Busy Woman,” “Good Graces,” “Juno” “Manchild” and “Taste,” earning her a career total of 11 BMI Pop Awards. She accepted her award by video saying, “I feel so privileged because storytelling is one of my favorite things and has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Songwriting is sort of like being in a relationship that continues to charm you and surprise you and humble you, so over the years I feel like I’ve learned so much about myself and about other people through writing, and it has been the biggest gift to me.”
Sony Music Publishing was named Publisher of the Year for representing 24 of the previous year’s most-performed songs, including “30 for 30” (Kendrick Lamar, SZA, Anthony “J.White Did It” White), “Abracadabra” (Lady Gaga, Andrew Watt), “Apple” (Noonie Bao, Linus “Lotus IV” Wiklund), “Bad Dreams” (Rocky Block, Julian Bunetta, Mikky Ekko, John Ryan, Sarah “Solly” Solovay, and Teddy Swims), “Ordinary” (Mags Duval, Cal Shapiro, Adam Yaron), and “Sailor Song” (Gigi Perez) just to name a few.
“Sailor Song” is a winner for Gigi Perez at the 2026 BMI Pop Awards (Photo by JC Olivera/Getty Images for BMI)
Throughout the ceremony, the 50 most-performed pop songs of the previous year received recognition and awards. There were returning hitmakers such as Benson Boone and Jack LaFrantz for “Sorry I’m Here For Someone Else “and “Mystical Magical.” There were also an impressive slate of first-time Pop Award winners including the following: sombr (“back to friends” and “undressed”), Gigi Perez (“Sailor Song”), Ravyn Lenae (“Love Me Not”), Phillip Lawrence (co-writer “APT), Mags Duval, Cal Shapiro and Adam Yaron for “Burning Down,” “Carry You Home,” and “Ordinary.”
It was a very good night for sombr, winner of BMI Pop Awards for “back to friends” and “undressed,” at the 2026 BMI Pop Awards at Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel on May 12, 2026 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by JC Olivera/Getty Images for BMI)
About BMI: Celebrating over 80 years of service to songwriters, composers, music publishers and businesses, BMI is a global leader in music rights management, serving as an advocate for the value of music. BMI represents the public performance rights in over 25 million musical works created and owned by more than 1.4 million songwriters, composers and music publishers. For more information on BMI please visit their site.
On our cover: (L to R) Michael Steinberg, EVP, Chief Revenue & Creative Officer of BMI, Paul Anka, Barbar Cane, BMI Vice President Worldwide Creative and BMI President and COO Todd Horvath. (Photo by JC Olivera/Getty Images for BMI)
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