Music News - Presenting the finalists for the 2024 Aotearoa Music Awards
18 April 2024 - 0 Comments
Stan Walker leads the way with five nods, including for Spotify Te Tino Pukaemi o te Tau | Album of the Year and Spotify Te Tino Waiata o te Tau | Single of the Year, for the powerful I Am as featured on the soundtrack to the Ava DuVernay film Origin. Walker is also up forTe Tino Reo o te Tau | Best Solo Artist, Te Māngai Pāho Te Manu Taki Māori o te Tau | Best Māori Artist, and the Te Māngai Pāho Mana Reo award, which recognises albums or singles with at least 50% te reo Māori content. Jordyn with a Why, MOHI, Rei, }Tawaz} and the Tuari Brothers are all also up for Best Māori Artist.
Tom Scott fronts four nominations for Avantdale Bowling Club’s Trees, and another four with Haz Beats for their Home Brew album Run It Back. Three of these are in the same categories: Spotify Album of The Year, Spotify Single of the Year, and Te Manu Taki Ātete o te Tau | Best Hip Hop Artist. Diggy Dupé joins the Scott-led acts as a finalist for Best Hip Hop Artist. From there the acts diverge, with Home Brew appearing as a finalist for Te Tino Kāhui Manu Taki o te Tau | Best Group, and Avantdale Bowling Club in the Best Solo Artist category. In the Te Taumata o te Kaiwhakaputa | Best Producer category, Haz Beats (Home Brew) vies with Christoph El Truento for Avantdale Bowling Club’s Trees and Tom Healy for Ceremony by Tiny Ruins.
Having won three Tūī in 2020, The Beths are finalists in three categories in 2024. Currently mid-Coachella, the band is once again recognised for Spotify Album of the Year, for their third LP Expert In A Dying Field; Spotify Single of the Year for Watching The Credits from that same album; and the coveted Best Group.
Country music sensation Kaylee Bell puts a strong boot forward, with nominations for Best Solo Artist; Te Manu Taki Tuawhenua o te Tau | Best Country Artist; and Spotify Single of the Year, for her breakout hit Boots 'N All. The independent artist, who is based between Nashville and Aotearoa, has had a massive year. She joins The Mitchell Twins and Matt Joe Gow as a finalist for Best Country Artist.
Lyttelton crooner Marlon Williams is up for Spotify Album of the Year (My Boy), Spotify Single of the Year (Don’t Go Back), Best Solo Artist, and NZ On Air Te Taumata o te Ataata | Best Music Video Content for his self-directed music video for Don’t Go Back. Anahera Parata is also a finalist for NZ On Air Best Music Video Content for Aaradhna’s She, as is Connor Pritchard for All My Friends by No Comply Feat. Wells*.
2023 Taite Music Prize winner Princess Chelsea is up for Spotify Album of the Year, for her celebrated return Everything Is Going To Be Alright. She’s also a finalist for Best Solo Artist and Te Manu Taki Whanokē o te Tau | Best Alternative Artist, in the good company of her trusty band and alongside ‘dungeon power techno’ three-piece Grecco Romank, and Mermaidens.
Having dropped their record I Like To Be Alone in November 2023, Mermaidens have proven a favourite for AMA 24. As well as Best Alternative, they’ve earnt nods for Spotify Single of the Year and Best Group. Meanwhile, band member Lily Paris West is twice a finalist for Te Taumata o te Toi | Best Album Artwork – for the act’s eponymous LP, as well as The Beths’ Expert In A Dying Field. Andrew McLeod is also in the running for Best Album Artwork, for The Coin That Broke The Fountain Floor by Clementine Valentine.
Amelia Murray AKA Fazerdaze is up for Spotify Single of the Year – for Bigger; Best Solo Artist; and Te Taumata o te Pūkenga Oro | Best Engineer alongside Emily Wheatcroft-Snape, for Break!
Simon Gooding, and Tom Healy & Alexandra Corbett are also in the running for Best Engineer, for King Clown (Paige) and My Boy (Marlon Williams) respectively.
Roots heavyweight L.A.B is up for Spotify Single of the Year for Take It Away, while relative newcomer Erny Belle joins the contenders for Spotify Album of the Year, as does Tiny Ruins, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, and Leisure – the three of which are also up for Best Group – along with Coterie.
Coterie is also a finalist for Spotify Single of the Year for Always Beside You Feat. Six60, Te Manu Taki Taketake o te Tau | Best Roots Artist alongside Sons of Zion and Corrella (also up for Spotify Single of the Year for Blue Eyed Māori), and Mana Reo. Joining Coterie and Stan Walker for Te Māngai Pāho Mana Reo is Jordyn with a Why, MOHI, Tawaz and Tuari Brothers.
The mighty Aaradhna is back on the scene, ahead of the release of her first album in eight years. In 2024 she’s up for Te Manu Taki Manako o te Tau | Best Soul/RnB Artist, the genre category she helped to create when she regifted her 2016 Tūī for Best Urban/Hip Hop to SWIDT. Dallas Tamaira and Sam V are also up for Best Soul/RnB Artist.
2022 Breakthrough Artist Georgia Lines is up for Te Manu Taki Arotini o te Tau | Best Pop Artist in 2024, alongside Crowd Pleasers Foley who recently secured a sync with Killing It Babe on the final episode of the fourth season of The Kardashians. They stand alongside rising artist Paige, who opened for the Jonas Brothers at their Spark Arena show in February, and who is also in the running for Spotify Album of the Year.
Featuring members that have been playing professionally for 20+ years, having had their start as members of other successful Aotearoa acts, the bands going for Te Manu Taki Rakapioi o te Tau | Best Rock Artist are no strangers to the local scene: Dead Favours, Midwave Breaks and Racing.
Both on the books of local indie label Sunreturn, Amamelia and deepState are finalists for Te Manu Taki Tāhiko o te Tau | Best Electronic Artist, alongside Drum & Bass MC Tali protégé Elipsa.
Meanwhile, what the Folk is up in Ōtautahi? All three finalists in the Te Manu Taki Ahurea o te Tau | Best Folk category are from or based in Christchurch, namely Adam McGrath, Terrible Sons, and Tom Lark.
Awarded at this year’s AMA event rather than Wellington Jazz Festival as in previous years, Te Manu Taki Tautito o te Tau | Best Jazz Artist will be awarded to Clear Path Ensemble, Dave Wilson or Myele Manzanza on 30 May.
Te Manu Taki Tuauki o te Tau | Best Classical Artist is also being awarded at AMA 24, with Michael Houstoun & Bella Hristova; Natasha Te Rupe-Wilson & Somi Kim; and the New Zealand String Quartet all up for the honour.
Recorded Music New Zealand CEO Jo Oliver says it’s incredibly special to bring back the Aotearoa Music Awards after a pause in 2023.
“Congratulations to all the finalists for the 2024 Aotearoa Music Awards. We are so lucky to have such a wide range of remarkably talented artists and behind-the-scenes specialists in Aotearoa. This ceremony at the end of Te Marama Puoro o Aotearoa | New Zealand Music Month is a chance to truly reflect on all that has been achieved in the music industry across the course of the nomination period.
“The Aotearoa Music Awards was paused in 2023, as we considered the outcomes of the review we undertook in 2022. It was important to us to engage with artists and the wider music community about the format, purpose and meaning of AMA.
“The message from the community was clear: the Aotearoa Music Awards is seen as essential, and aspirational for emerging artists. We heard strong support for our continuing commitment to embed te ao Māori and te reo and to reflect the unique cultural identity of Aotearoa. We also heard that more clarity was needed around the judging criteria and processes.
“We took the time to do that work, and have taken steps to more actively promote diversity and inclusion across the judging process and the event. We are also excited to introduce a fresh format for AMA 2024, which will consist of two connected ceremonies, the Opening Ceremony and Showcase, and award more than 20 Tūī in total.
“We can’t wait to celebrate the many incredible artists that are finalists for AMA 24, and to honour them in the company of their music whānau,” says Oliver.
The 2024 Aotearoa Music Awards will take place on Thursday 30 May at the Viaduct Events Centre in Tāmaki Makaurau and will be streamed live via Official Media Partner RNZ. Viewers who don’t catch the live 1hr 45-minute broadcast will be available to stream the Awards on TVNZ+ from Friday 31 May.
The Aotearoa Music Awards is also delighted to reveal Spotify as presenting partner for the prestigious Album of the Year and Single of the Year award categories.
NZ On Air Te Taumata o te Hokona | Highest Selling Artist and Te Taumata o te Horapa | Radio Airplay Record of the Year are decided based on data provided by the Official NZ Music Charts and will be announced and awarded on the night. Further information will be released about the Tā te Iwi | People's Choice, Te Iti Rearea o te Tau | Breakthrough Artist of the Year and Te Tino Waiata ā-Iti Rearea o te Tau | Breakthrough Single of the Year categories ahead of the ceremony.
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