The Music Featured in IKEA's 2026 'Coming Home' Advert

What is the song in the latest IKEA advert?

The music featured in IKEA's 2026 global advertising campaign, titled "Coming Home", is a cover of Carole King's classic song "Home Again". The version used in the advert is performed by American singer-songwriter Lucy Dacus. The campaign, a collaboration between IKEA's in-house creative team and the agency McCann, focuses on the powerful and universal emotion of returning to one's own personal sanctuary.

About the ‘Coming Home’ Campaign

Launched in early 2026, the "Coming Home" campaign is a global initiative from IKEA. The advert, directed by Justyna Obasi, depicts various individuals on their journeys back home through public transport and city streets, capturing the sense of anticipation and relief upon arrival. The campaign is based on insights from IKEA's "Life at Home" report, which found that two-thirds of people worldwide view their home as a place of joy. The choice of song is central to the advert's emotional weight, underscoring the theme of home as a refuge.

The Original Song: Carole King’s “Home Again”

"Home Again" was written and originally recorded by the legendary American singer-songwriter Carole King. The song was a key track on her seminal 1971 album, Tapestry. This album is one of the best-selling of all time, having sold over 25 million copies worldwide. Tapestry was a critical and commercial success, winning four Grammy Awards in 1972, including Album of the Year. The album is celebrated for its intimate and warm singer-songwriter style, which defined the era. The song "Home Again" perfectly encapsulates this feeling, with gentle lyrics about longing for the comfort and familiarity of home.

The Cover Artist: Lucy Dacus

The melancholic and understated version of "Home Again" used in the advert is performed by Lucy Dacus, an acclaimed American indie-rock artist. Dacus has released several successful solo albums, including 2021's Home Video. She is also a member of the indie supergroup boygenius, alongside fellow singer-songwriters Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker.

Dacus's connection to Carole King's music is personal; she has stated that Tapestry was a foundational album for her, discovered in her mother's CD collection. In a 2022 statement, Dacus said King's work "feels like a part of my DNA". She had previously released her covers of "Home Again" and another Tapestry track, "It's Too Late", as part of a special project with Third Man Records before it was selected for the IKEA campaign.

Memorable Music in Past IKEA UK Adverts

IKEA has a long history of using distinctive music to create memorable advertising campaigns in the UK. The company's long-running 'The Wonderful Everyday' campaign, created with agency Mother London, has produced several notable examples.

• "Silence the Critics" (2019): For its first official Christmas advert, IKEA used a grime track performed by legendary MC D Double E, where household objects come to life to criticise the state of their home.
• "The Hare" (2020): This advert, which reimagined the classic tortoise and the hare fable, featured the iconic UK rap track 'Witness (1 Hope)' by Roots Manuva. The campaign was praised for its bold and creative use of a cornerstone piece of British music.
• "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros: This track was used in IKEA commercials from 2011 and became strongly associated with the brand, eventually being voted an all-time favourite song in TV advertising by readers of Adformatie in 2013.

How to Identify Music from UK TV Adverts

If you hear a piece of music in a UK television advert and want to identify it, there are several effective methods you can use.

The most immediate tool is a music recognition app on your smartphone, such as Shazam or SoundHound. These apps listen to a short sample of the audio and compare it against a vast database to identify the track name and artist. Many modern smartphones have this feature built into their operating systems.

Another reliable method is to search online. Most major brands, including IKEA, upload their adverts to their official UK YouTube channels. The video description or comments section often contains information about the music used. Additionally, specialised UK-based websites such as TV Advert Music and Adbreakanthems are dedicated to cataloguing the songs used in recent commercials.