Today, artists across 9 categories covering rock, pop, urban, blues and roots, country and dance have been named as nominees showcasing the rich talents of Australian songwriters.
Including the contenders for the peer voted APRA SONG OF THE YEAR, these nominations represent the composers and lyricists who have achieved the highest performances of their work and excellence in their craft over the previous year. They are Kasey Chambers, Bliss n Eso, Hilltop Hoods, Guy Sebastian, Catherine Britt, Tame Impala, Birds Of Tokyo, Angus & Julia Stone, SIA, Lee Kernaghan, Art vs Science and many more, with the ever prolific John Butler leading the nominations tally with 5 nods.
In Australia’s biggest peer voted music award, the five nominees in the coveted SONG OF THE YEAR category reflect diverse facets of the songwriting spectrum. Previous SONG OF THE YEAR winners John Butler and Kasey Chambers have each been nominated by their peers for their respective songs Revolution and Little Bird. Pop songwriter SIA and co-writer Samuel Dixon have been nominated for the super catchy disco hit Clap Your Hands while Birds of Tokyo have been shortlisted for their first ARIA Top 50 Single Plans. And the final song in the running for the APRA SONG OF THE YEAR is the ARIA winning Big Jet Plane written by sibling pop folk duo Angus and Julia Stone and taken from their lauded sophomore release Down the Way.
In the category of MOST PLAYED AUSTRALIAN WORK, John Butler is nominated twice with Close To You and One Way Road from his # 1 album April Uprising. Beloved Brisbane quintet Powderfinger receive a post-farewell nomination for the glorious Burn Your Name while their Sunsets tour mates Jet have been nominated for the track Seventeen taken from their third album Shaka Rock. And Perth outfit Birds Of Tokyo make another worthy appearance, again nominated for the track Plans which was voted in at Number 4 in Triple J’s Hottest 100 for 2010.
URBAN WORK OF THE YEAR for 2011 features some of Australia’s finest songwriters in this genre. Bliss n Eso leads the category with two nominations for Addicted and Down By The River, both from their Platinum selling Number 1 album Running On Air. Hip-hop veterans and winners of the 2010 Urban Work of the Year, Hilltop Hoods along with co-writer Daniel Rankine are recognised for their hit Light You Burned. Perth hip hop lyricist Drapht (Paul Ridge) is nominated along with co-writers Daniel Rankine and Larry Siler for Rapunzel. And Renaissance man and former APRA Award winner Guy Sebastian is nominated with co-writer (and performer) Eve Jeffers for the effervescent track Who’s That Girl, which has achieved an incredible 4 x Platinum sales status in Australia.
The DANCE WORK OF THE YEAR category features an exciting mix of upcoming songwriters including the enigmatic Art vs. Science who receive their first APRA nomination for the wildly popular Magic Fountain taken from their 2011 release The Experiment. Melbourne electro-pop outfit Miami Horror has also received their maiden nomination for Sometimes. Antonio Egizi, David Musumeci and James Maas are nominated alongside writer Brian McFadden for the Brian McFadden performed song Chemical Rush. Amy Pearson, Cameron Denny and Paul Zala are nominated for the Platinum selling Free Fallin’ as performed by 2010 APRA nominee Zoe Badwi. And the final nominees in this category are writers Ilan Kidron, Jonathan Murphy, David Greene, Justin Shave and Marisa Lock for the infectious Hello by The Potbelleez.
Appearing in the BLUES AND ROOTS WORK OF THE YEAR category with two nominations is John Butler for Close To You and One Way Road both of which reached well inside the ARIA Top 50. The Beautiful Girls chief songwriter Matt McHugh has also received two nominations in this category for his compositions 10:10 and Don’t Wait while swampy blues prodigy Ash Grunwald rounds out the category with a nomination for Walking from the album Hot Mama Vibes.
The COUNTRY WORK OF THE YEAR category features some new and established songwriters including Catherine Britt and co-writer Melanie Horsnell for Can’t Change A Thing. Hot country duo McAlister Kemp receive their first ever nomination for their catchy as hell song Hell Yeah. Winner of the 2011 International Songwriting Competition Grand Prize for her track Beautiful Mess (Folk/Singer-Songwriter), Kasey Chambers returns in this category with her composition Little Bird. Golden Guitar winners The McClymont sisters along with co-writer Nathan Chapman are recognised for Wrapped Up Good and country music legend Lee Kernaghan is nominated for Planet Country along with co-writers Colin Buchanan, Matthew Scullion and Garth Porter.
In year two of the new category ROCK WORK OF THE YEAR, APRA is proud to announce the five contenders. The members of Gyroscope are nominated for Baby I’m Getting Better while Amy Meredith receive their first APRA nomination for their song Lying, their first Top Ten single to date. Powderfinger return with Burn Your Name as do Birds of Tokyo with Plans. Previous APRA nominees Jet round out the category with their song Seventeen.
In the category of MOST PERFORMED INTERNATIONAL WORK are writers Calvin Broadus, Katheryn Hudson, Martin Sandberg, Lukasz Gottwald, Bonnie McKee and Benjamin Levin for their reworking of the Brian Wilson and Michael Love classic California Gurls (as performed by Katy Perry). Songwriter Adam Young, who performs under the moniker Owl City is nominated for Fireflies. Lead vocalist and songwriter of Train, Patrick Monahan, is nominated along with co-writers Amund Bjorklund and Espen Lind for Hey, Soul Sister. Will Adams a.k.a will.i.am is nominated for the catchy O.M.G (performed by Usher featuring will.i.am) and the final nominees in this category are Alecia Moore (aka P!nk), Martin Sandberg and Johan Schuster for the song Whataya Want From Me performed by Adam Lambert.
In a change that was introduced for the 2010 awards, the APRA Board of Writer and Publisher Directors have named five songwriters/groups of songwriters for BREAKTHROUGH SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR. This year, they are Anthony Jackson, Ian Kenny, Adam Spark and Adam Weston from Birds Of Tokyo, Nikolas Kaloper, Samuel Lockwood, Hayley McGlone and Heather Shannon from The Jezabels. Kevin Parker, songwriter of Perth outfit Tame Impala, Dan Sultan and co-writer Scott Wilson and last, but certainly not least, the awesomely talented Megan Washington.
The recipient of the celebrated SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR category will also be announced at the APRA Music Awards. This prestigious award, as determined by the APRA Board of Writer and Publisher Directors, is awarded based on the body of work of a songwriter or group of songwriters in the previous calendar year. Previous recipients include some of Australia’s finest songwriters including Daniel Johns, Julian Hamilton, Kim Moyes, Paul Kelly, Bernard Fanning, Neil Finn and last year’s recipients Angus and Malcolm Young. Australian songwriting legend Paul Kelly, the 2011 recipient of the TED ALBERT AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING SERVICES TO AUSTRALIAN MUSIC will receive a special presentation on the night. In addition to the above awards, the winner in the category of MOST PERFORMED AUSTRALIAN WORK OVERSEAS will be announced at the Carriageworks knees-up on Tuesday June 21st.
Injecting a healthy dose of irreverence into proceedings as hosts for the 2011 APRA MUSIC AWARDS will be those cheeky chaps from THE CHASER, CHRIS TAYLOR and ANDREW HANSEN. And finally, the 2011 APRA MUSIC AWARDS will be filmed by subscription television partner MAX for a special that will be broadcast exclusively on MAX on THURSDAY JULY 7TH at 9.30PM. Featuring exclusive interviews from the red carpet and backstage, as well as a wrap up of all the award winners, this is a special broadcast not to be missed! MAX is available on FOXTEL and AUSTAR.
CATEGORIES FOR 2011 APRA MUSIC AWARDS
- Song of the Year
- Most Played Australian Work
- Most Played Australian Work Overseas – no nominees, winner announced on the night
- International Work of the Year
- Country Work of the Year
- Blues & Roots Work of the Year
- Urban Work of the Year
- Dance Work of the Year
- Rock Work of the Year.
- The APRA Board of Writer and Publisher Directors determine the following:
- Songwriter of the Year
- Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music
- Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year
2011 APRA MUSIC AWARDS
Tuesday June 21st
Carriageworks, Sydney
Hosted by Chris Taylor and Andrew Hansen