Zayn Malik, Ed Sheeran and James Bay to go head to head at the BMI London Awards

Zayn Malik has got to fight off the likes of Ed and James Bay (picture: Rex/Shutterstock)

Zayn, Ed Sheeran and James Bay are about to do battle.

They're each up for Song Of The Year at this year's BMI London Awards on October 9, with Zayn up for Pillowtalk, Ed for writing Justin Bieber's Love Yourself and James Bay for Let It Go.

The award notes that the UK or European winner is responsible for writing most performed track on US radio and TV in the last 12 months.

The trio also face competition from DJ Paleface & Kyla for their contributions to 'One Dance' by Drake and Alexander Palmer, who write 'Somewhere On A Beach' performed by Dierks Bentley.

It wouldn't be Ed's first, he took home the award for Thinking Out Loud. Sam Smith also took the gong in 2015 for Stay With Me.

Whoever takes home the main prize, each of the five nominees will receive a BMI London Pop Award on the night.

Ed's up for the Song Of The Year award, performed by Justin Bieber (Picture: C Brandon/Redferns via Getty Images)

Pillowtalk was the debut solo single by the former One Direction member, written and performed by Zayn and it went straight in at number one in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Ed's Love Yourself was recorded by Justin and was produced and co-written by Benny Blanco and Bieber, and it reached number one in eight countries including the UK and the US and went on to spend an incredible 24 non-consecutive weeks in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100.

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Bay's Let It Go is the self-penned lead single from the rocker's EP of the same name and it debuted in the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Kyla and DJ Paleface's One Dance – which samples their 90s dancehall track Do You Mind – was also a bit of a banger of 2016 and it spent a total of 10 non-consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. It also accumulated over one billion individual streams, making the track one of the best-selling singles of all time.

Legendary songwriter and lead singer of Jamiroquai, Jay Kay will receive the President's Award in recognition of his profound influence on songwriting within the music industry.

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