We’re getting close to finding out the winner of one of the most prestigious and coveted music awards in the country: APRA’s Song of the Year.
APRA |AMCOS have today unveiled the shortlist for the 2013 crowning, with 30 of Australia’s finest songs and their songwriters in the running for the annual gong.
The award is the largest peer-voted music award in Australia, with members of the Australiasian Performing Right Association casting votes for their favourite song from last year – kind of like the Triple J’s Hottest 100, but this time Mackelmore’s ‘Thriftshop’ won’t be walking away with the title.
“The Top 30 shortlist for the 2013 APRA Song of the Year Award is impressive and illustrates the breadth of talent in this country across the genre spectrum,” said APRA CEO Brett Cottle. “It’s a fantastic list of songwriters that includes up-and-comers like Flume who’s now selling out stadiums, hip hop champion 360 and country music stalwarts like Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson.”
In 2012, the sought after award was won by the world-conquering Gotye and the accolade now sits comfortably next to the three Grammys in Wally De Backer’s ever-growing trophy cabinet. Gotye is up for the award again this year, this time for ‘Save Me’.
Other nominations include ‘Elephant’ and ‘Feels Like We Only Go Backwards’ from Tame Impala’s inescapable second album Lonerism, ‘Child’ by Melbourne rapper 360, ‘Holdin On’ by the internationally toasted Flume, and fellow Triple J One Stand band The Rubens, with ‘My Gun’.
The Temper Trap, who were recently selected to support The Rolling Stones for their London Hyde Park gig this July, are up for the award in ‘Trembling Hands’, while The Presets ‘Youth In Trouble’ the lead single from their third studio album Pacifica is also nominated. “The Top 30 shortlist for the 2013 APRA Song of the Year Award is impressive and illustrates the breadth of talent in this country across the genre spectrum.” – APRA CEO Brett Cottle
Other notable nominees include The Bamboo’s Tim Rogers-featuring ‘I Got Burned’, Courtney Barnett’s ‘History Eraser’, sister rock act Stonefield’s ‘Bad Reality’ , and ‘The Most Played Aussie Band On Radio’ Birds of Tokyo, with their anthemic single ‘This Fire’.
The annual APRA awards also award winners across several other categories, including Songwriter of the Year, Most Played Australian Work (which both went to Gotye last year), Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year, as well as genre-related categories from country to dance to rock, plus many more.
“It’s the largest peer-voted music award in Australia – all nominations are provided by APRA’s songwriter, composer and music publisher members and APRA members get to vote on the final recipient,” said Cottle in congratulating this year’s nominees.
“It’s a real honour to make the shortlist and to be named as the final recipient of the Award. I wish all our nominees well as the voting process commences in earnest,” added the APRA CEO.
Now that the shortlist has been revealed, it’s up to APRA members to cull down the hopefuls until they decide who will be granted with the biggest bragging rights in the Australian music industry.
You can view the complete Top 30 list of nominations below (in alphabetical order)
- ADAM AND EVE (Written and performed by Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson)
- BAD REALITY (Written by Amy, Hannah, Sarah and Holly Findlay. Performed by Stonefield)
- BEAUTIFUL LIAR (Written and performed by Lyn Bowtell)
- BIRD ON THE BUFFALO (Written and performed by Angus Stone)
- CHILD (Written by Matthew Colwell and Kaelyn Behr. Performed by 360)
- CLAIR DE LUNE (Written by Hugo Gruzman and James Lyell. Performed by Flight Facilities)
- DIAMONDS (Written by Sia Furler, Benjamin Levin, Mikkel Eriksen and Tor Hermansen. Performed by Rihanna)
- DROVER’S WIFE (Written by Luke O’Shea and Peter Gabrielides. Performed by Luke O’Shea)
- EASY WAY OUT (Written by Wally De Backer. Performed by Gotye)
- ELEPHANT (Written by Kevin Parker and Jay Watson. Performed by Tame Impala)
- EVERYONE’S WAITING (Written by Missy Higgins and Daniel Wilson. Performed by Missy Higgins)
- FEELS LIKE WE ONLY GO BACKWARDS (Written by Kevin Parker. Performed by Tame Impala)
- FOLLOW THE SUN (Written and performed by Xavier Rudd)
- GET ALONG (Written by Guy Sebastian and Ian Barter. Performed by Guy Sebastian)
- HISTORY ERASER (Written and performed by Courtney Barnett)
- HOLDING ON (Written by Flume and O. Redding. Performed by Flume)
- HOME (Written and performed by Troy Cassar-Daley)
- I GOT BURNED (Written by Lance Ferguson. Performed by The Bamboos)
- MY GUN (Written by Scott Baldwin, Izaac, Samuel and Elliott Margin and David Kahne. Performed by The Rubens)
- PASSERBY (Written by Patrick Davern and Phil Jamieson. Performed by Grinspoon)
- SAVE ME (Written by Wally De Backer. Performed by Gotye)
- SET ME ON FIRE (Written by Missy Higgins, Butterfly Boucher and Daniel Wilson Performed by Missy Higgins)
- THE QUIET LIFE (Written and performed by Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson)
- THIS FIRE (Written by Adam Spark, Adam Weston, Ian Kenny, Glenn Sarangapany and Ian Berney. Performed by Birds of Tokyo)
- TREMBLING HANDS (Written by Tobias Dundas, Joseph Greer, Abby Mandagi and Lorenzo Sillitto. Performed by Temper Trap)
- WHEN THE MOMENT COMES (Written by Mia Dyson, Erin Sidney and Patrick Cupples. Performed by Mia Dyson)
- WISH YOU WERE HERE (Written by Delta Goodrem and Gary Clark. Performed by Delta Goodrem)
- YOU MAKE ME HAPPY (Written by Clare Bowditch and Eddie Perfect. Performed by Clare Bowditch featuring Eddie Perfect)
- YOUR LOVE (Written by Daniel McGorry. Performed by Saskwatch)
- YOUTH IN TROUBLE (Written by Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes. Performed by The Presets)
