Legendary singer-songwriter Paul Anka will receive the BMI Icon Award next month at the 2026 BMI Pop Awards in Beverly Hills, honoring a career spanning more than seven decades, organizers announced Tuesday.
The private event will be held at the Beverly Wilshire hotel and will also recognize the year’s top songwriters, publishers and most-performed pop songs in the United States.
Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI), a music rights organization that represents songwriters and publishers, presents the Icon Award to artists with a lasting influence on generations of music makers.
Anka, known for writing hits such as “Diana” and the classic “My Way,” has maintained a prolific career that includes more than 900 songs and dozens of charting hits, organizers said.
“Paul’s words, melodies and artistry transcend decades and eras, and we’re thrilled to honor him as a BMI Icon,” Barbara Cane, vice president of Worldwide Creative, said in a statement. “We’re also excited to celebrate and recognize the undeniable talent of all BMI’s brilliant, award-winning songwriters and publishers that we’re privileged to represent.”
Over the course of his career, Anka has collaborated with artists ranging from Frank Sinatra and Michael Jackson to Celine Dion and Drake, and has recorded more than 120 albums that have sold nearly 90 million copies worldwide.
He is also the only artist to have songs appear on the Billboard charts across seven consecutive decades, according to BMI.
Anka joins a list of past BMI Icon Award recipients that includes Stevie Nicks, Dolly Parton and Paul Simon.