George Michael: A Songwriter Who Is Still Deeply Missed

The news that George Michael has been posthumously awarded a Fellowship of The Ivors Academy feels both moving and entirely fitting. Few artists have left behind a body of work so commercially successful while also being so emotionally intelligent, carefully crafted and enduring.

Former Wham! bandmate Andrew Ridgeley accepted the honour on George’s behalf and said he would have been “immensely proud” to receive recognition from fellow songwriters. That part, to me, matters. The Ivors have always represented something deeper than popularity. They recognise songwriting as both an art and a craft. George Michael understood both instinctively.

For many people, George Michael will always be associated with huge pop moments. The swagger of Faith. The irresistible energy of Wham!. The Christmas permanence of Last Christmas. But what made him remarkable was what sat beneath all of that. He wrote songs that carried emotional weight without ever feeling heavy-handed. There was honesty in them. Sometimes pain. Sometimes longing. Often vulnerability.

Songs like Praying for Time, Jesus to a Child, Older and Cowboys and Angels revealed an artist who was constantly evolving and willing to expose uncomfortable truths about love, grief, loneliness and identity. He had the rare ability to write music that sounded polished and accessible while quietly cutting very deep emotionally.

I think that’s part of why his work continues to resonate. The best storytellers do not simply entertain. They help people feel seen. George Michael did that repeatedly across decades. His music accompanied people through heartbreaks, relationships, losses, nights out, lonely drives home and moments they probably still associate with certain songs today.

There was also something deeply human about him beyond the music. Over the years, countless stories emerged about his private generosity and kindness, often carried out quietly and without publicity. It added another dimension to how many people viewed him. Not perfect, not polished into something artificial, but human in a way audiences recognised and connected with.

Artists like George Michael become woven into people’s lives. Their work marks periods of time, relationships, griefs and hopes. Even years after their passing, the connection remains.

This Fellowship is a reminder that beyond the celebrity, beyond the headlines and beyond the enormous success, George Michael was one of the truly great British songwriters of his generation. And his songs still speak for him beautifully.