Australia’s beloved APRA Awards are almost upon us.

Returning to Melbourne for the first time in six years on Tuesday April 30, the 2019 APRAs will see new Musical Director Kate Miller-Heidke at the helm. A multi-award winner herself, Miller-Heidke has curated what has become the Awards’ signature dish: performances of the peer-voted Song of the Year nominations by another artist. Tracks like Amy Shark’s ‘I Said Hi’ and Paul Kelly’s ‘With the One I Love’ will be delivered with a different arrangement to show off the performer’s own interpretation of the track.

With categories such as Breakthrough Songwriter of Year and the Overseas Recognition Award – and the Ted Albert Award, which will this year posthumously honour Rob Potts – the Awards shine a giant spotlight on the people who usually actively avoid it… with the exception of this one treasured calendar event.

It was the APRA Awards which first honoured a 17-year-old Ella Hooper when she was nominated for her songwriting prowess with Killing Heidi. It was the APRAs which gave the late Geoffrey Gurruml Yunupingu a Breakthrough Songwriter Award when he was aged 38. It was the APRAs which propelled Kasey Chambers onto a red carpet and an awards stage before she became one of the most awarded artists in Australian history.

As Milly Petriella (Director, Member Relations at APRA AMCOS), puts it, the Awards do so much more than give the public a peek behind the velvet curtains to see who are in those writer rooms.

“From my point of view, and from talking to writers over the years, the APRA Awards became the most important event for anyone that was composing or writing songs,” she told TIO. “Because they were being acknowledged for the composition and the songwriting by their peers, in an atmosphere that was all about the respect and recognition of the songwriting.”

Milly Petriella, Director, Member Relations at APRA AMCOS

As you’ll see in the collection of historical statistics and sign-post moments below, the APRAs are of the most unique offering our industry has. From Savage Garden taking out the most wins in the male category with 10 APRAs, to Kasey Chambers being the most nominated songwriter with 28 under her belt, the months and months of planning that go into each ceremony can be felt for a lifetime.

“We’re acknowledging those people behind the scenes that aren’t acknowledged at Awards where it’s about the artist and the performer,” said Petriella. “Louis Schoorl, the oldest Breakthrough Songwriter Of The Year, had been writing for 12 years when he won that award back in Brisbane (in 2014). He would never see that acknowledgement and that public award if we didn’t have the APRA Awards.”

Petriella, who also helps run dedicated events and initiatives for APRA members in LA, Nashville and London, is the reason behind the Overseas Recognition Award. Last year the trophy went to Ben Abraham and Kylie Sackley, awarding two largely unknown but globally prolific songwriters.

“The Overseas Recognition Award is very close to my heart because we are recognising those who have relocated and gone through all the trials of not living at home and having the support around them,” said Petriella. “And we recognise them here, it’s very special.”

To celebrate the upcoming APRA Awards on April 30, APRA AMCOS and TIO has put together a few stats from the Awards’ 37-year history. Check them out below.

The APRA Awards in Numbers

Oldest APRA Music Awards winner

• Bill Armstrong 2006, 77 years old, Ted Albert Award
• Paul Kelly 2018, 63 years old, Song of the Year 2018

Gotye (2012)

Oldest APRA Music Awards nominee

• Joy McKean 1999, 69 years old, Most Performed Country Work for Biggest Disappointment

Youngest ever nominee

• Ella Hooper 2000, 17 years old, Song of the Year for Weir

Stonefield

Youngest ever winner

• FEMALE – Holly Finday of Stonefield, 17 years old, Rock Work of the Year for Love You Deserve
• MALE – Luke, Calum and Michael of 5 Seconds of Summer 19 years old, Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year

Watch 5SOS’ acceptance speech below:

Longest time between wins for songwriter (no noms in between)

• 18 years – Gurrumul 1991 Song of the Year for Treaty – 2009 Breakthrough Songwriter

Longest time between nominations for songwriter

• 12 Years Joy McKean – 1987 for Lights on the Hill – 1999 for Biggest Disappointment both in Country Work
• 12 Years Andrew Farriss 1990 for She Has to be Loved with Jenny Morris in Most Performed – 2002 for Precious Heart in Dance Work

Most co-writers on a winning song

• 11 co-writers, Uptown Funk for International Work of the Year
• 8 co-writers, Treaty for Song of the Year
• 8 co-writers, Act Your Age by Bliss n Eso ft. Bluejuice for Urban Work of the Year

Most nominated female songwriter

• 28 Noms Kasey Chambers

Kasey Chambers

Most nominated male songwriter

• 20 Noms Bernard Fanning

Powderfinger’s Bernard Fanning with Tex Perkins and Tim Rogers (2007)

Most wins – female songwriter

• 10 wins – Kasey Chambers

Kasey Chambers (2003)

Most wins – male songwriter

• 10 wins – Savage Garden (Daniel Jones & Darren Hayes)

Savage Garden

Most consecutive wins for a songwriter

• 6 years, Savage Garden, various categories
• 6 years, Sia various categories

Pete Wentz accepting an ARIA for Sia in 2015:

Longest winning streak in any one category

• 6 years, Savage Garden in Most Played Australian Work Overseas

Most wins for a Song

• 5 wins for ‘Somebody that I Used to Know’

Watch Gotye receive the APRA Song of the Year Award in 2012:

Most wins for a song in one year

• 3 wins for ‘Not Pretty Enough’ in 2003

Most nominations by a band

• 16 nominations – Birds of Tokyo

Longest time it’s taken someone to win an award after being nominated

• 10 years, Troy Cassar-Daley – first nom 1998, first win 2008. Nominated 4 times before winning
• 10 years Jon Hume – first nom 2008, first win 2018. Nominated 5 times before winning

Oldest breakthrough

• Geoffrey Gurruml Yunupingu 2009, 38 years old
• Louis Schoorl 2014, 38 years old

Louis Schoorl (2014)

2019 APRA Music Awards nominees

Peer-Voted APRA Song of the Year

Title: I Said Hi
Artist: Amy Shark
Writer: Amy Shark
Publishers: Mushroom Music obo UNIFIED Music Publishing

Title: Native Tongue
Artist: Mojo Juju
Writers: Mojo Juju / Joel Ma* / Rita Seumanutafa
Publisher: Mushroom Music*

Title: Slow Mover
Artist: Angie McMahon
Writer: Angie McMahon
Publisher: Kobalt Music Publishing

Title: Society
Artist: Ainslie Wills
Writers: Ainslie Wills / Bram Inscore* / MoZella^
Publishers: Sony/ATV Music Publishing Allegro / Kobalt Music Publishing* / Sony/ATV Music Publishing^

Title: With the One I Love
Artist: Paul Kelly
Writer: Paul Kelly
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing

Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year

Writer: Danzal Baker pka Baker Boy

Writer: Dean Lewis
Publisher: Kobalt Music Publishing obo Specific Music

Writer: Georgia Flipo pka G Flip
Publisher: Kobalt Music Publishing obo Future Classic

Writer: Holly Rankin pka Jack River
Publisher: Mushroom Music

Writer: Tash Sultana
Publisher: Kobalt Music Publishing obo Tash Sultana

Most Played Australian Work

Title: Coming Home
Artist: Sheppard
Writers: Jason Bovino / Amy Sheppard / George Sheppard / Matthew Radosevich* / Christopher Wallace*
Publishers: Mushroom Music obo Empire of Song / Native Tongue Music Publishing*

Title: Go Bang
Artist: PNAU
Writers: Nick Littlemore / Sam Littlemore* / Peter Mayes / Luke Steele^
Publishers: Universal Music Publishing / 120 Publishing* / Sony/ATV Music Publishing^

Title: I Said Hi
Artist: Amy Shark
Writer: Amy Shark
Publishers: Mushroom Music obo UNIFIED Music Publishing

Title: The Middle
Artist: Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey
Writers: Sarah Aarons / Jordan Johnson* / Stefan Johnson^ / Marcus Lomax* / Kyle Trewartha+ Michael Trewartha+ / Anton Zaslavski+
Publishers: Sony/ATV Music Publishing Allegro / BMG Rights Management* / Kobalt Music Publishing^ / Universal/MCA Music Publishing+

Title: We’re Going Home
Artist: Vance Joy
Writers: James Keogh / Daniel Wilson*
Publishers: Mushroom Music obo UNIFIED Music Publishing / BMG Rights Management*

Country Work of the Year

Title: Ain’t Seen It Yet
Artist: The Wolfe Brothers
Writers: Brodie Rainbird / Nicholas Wolfe / Thomas Wolfe / Erik Anderson*
Publishers: Perfect Pitch Publishing / Peermusic*

Title: Day Drunk
Artist: Morgan Evans
Writers: Morgan Evans / Chris DeStefano* / Lindy Robbins^
Publishers: Warner/Chappell Music / Sony/ATV Music Publishing* / Kobalt Music Publishing^

Title: I Do
Artist: Morgan Evans
Writers: Morgan Evans+ / Chris DeStefano* / Ashley Gorley^
Publishers: Warner/Chappell Music+^ / Sony/ATV Music Publishing* / Native Tongue Music Publishing^

Title: In The Morning
Artist: Tori Forsyth
Writer: Tori Forsyth
Publishers: Universal Music Publishing obo Peppermintblue Publishing

Title: The Campfire Song
Artist: Kasey Chambers & The Fireside Disciples feat. Alan Pigram
Writers: Kasey Chambers* / Bill Chambers^ / Alan Pigram
Publishers: Mushroom Music* / Kobalt Music Publishing obo Checked Label Services^

Blues & Roots Work of the Year

Title: Chateau
Artist: Angus & Julia Stone
Writers: Angus Stone / Julia Stone
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing

Title: Mystik
Artist: Tash Sultana
Writer: Tash Sultana
Publishers: Kobalt Music Publishing obo Tash Sultana

Title: Second Hand Car
Artist: Kim Churchill
Writers: Kim Churchill / Nicholas Hodgson*
Publishers: Sony/ATV Music Publishing / Kobalt Music Publishing*

Title: Tell It Like It Is
Artist: Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders
Writer: Jack Ladder
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing

Title: White Flag
Artist: Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders
Writer: Jack Ladder
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing

Dance Work of the Year

Title: Flames
Artist: David Guetta & Sia
Writers: Sia Furler* / Christopher Braide^ / David Guetta+ / Giorgio Tuinfort ~/ Marcus Van Wattum
Publishers: Sony/ATV Music Publishing* / BMG Rights Management^ / Origin Music Publishing+ / Kobalt Music Publishing ~

Title: Go Bang
Artist: PNAU
Writers: Nick Littlemore / Sam Littlemore* / Peter Mayes / Luke Steele^
Publishers: Universal Music Publishing / 120 Publishing* / Sony/ATV Music Publishing^

Title: Let You Down
Artist: Peking Duk feat. Icona Pop
Writers: Adam Hyde / Reuben Styles / Styalz (Kaelyn Behr)* / Samuel Manville^ / Robert Taylor+
Publishers: BMG Rights Management / Sony/ATV Music Publishing* / Native Tongue Music Publishing^ / Warner/Chappell Music+

Title: Tell Me You Love Me
Artist: Galantis & Throttle
Writers: Sarah Aarons* / Bloodshy^ / Svidden^ / Robert Bergin / Linus Eklow+ / Edward Jenkins / Henrik Jonback~
Publishers: Sony/ATV Music Publishing Allegro* / Native Tongue Music Publishing^ / Kobalt Music
Publishing+ / Warner/Chappell Music~

Title: The Middle
Artist: Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey
Writers: Sarah Aarons / Jordan Johnson* / Stefan Johnson^ / Marcus Lomax* / Kyle Trewartha+ / Michael Trewartha+ / Anton Zaslavski+
Publishers: Sony/ATV Music Publishing Allegro / BMG Rights Management* / Kobalt Music Publishing^ / Universal/MCA Music Publishing+

Rock Work of the Year

Title: Confidence
Artist: Ocean Alley
Writers: Nic Blom / Baden Donegal / Lach Galbraith / Mitch Galbraith / Angus Goodwin / Tom O’Brien

Title: Million Man
Artist: The Rubens
Writers: Scott Baldwin / Elliott Margin / Sam Margin / Zaac Margin / William Zeglis
Publishers: Mushroom Music obo Ivy League Music

Title: Never Ever
Artist: The Rubens feat. Sarah
Writers: Sarah Aarons / Elliott Margin* / Sam Margin*
Publishers: Sony/ATV Music Publishing Allegro / Mushroom Music obo Ivy League Music*

Title: Slow Mover
Artist: Angie McMahon
Writer: Angie McMahon
Publisher: Kobalt Music Publishing

Title: The Deepest Sighs, The Frankest Shadows
Artist: Gang of Youths
Writer: David Le’aupepe
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing

Pop Work of the Year

Title: Be Alright
Artist: Dean Lewis
Writers: Dean Lewis / Jon Hume*
Publishers: Kobalt Music Publishing obo Specific Music / Sony/ATV Music Publishing*

Title: Coming Home
Artist: Sheppard
Writers: Jason Bovino / Amy Sheppard / George Sheppard / Matthew Radosevich* / Christopher Wallace*
Publishers: Mushroom Music obo Empire of Song / Native Tongue Music Publishing*

Title: Healing Hands
Artist: Conrad Sewell
Writers: Stuart Crichton / Conrad Sewell* / Stephen Wrabel
Publishers: Native Tongue Music Publishing / Universal Music Publishing*

Title: I Said Hi
Artist: Amy Shark
Writer: Amy Shark
Publishers: Mushroom Music obo UNIFIED Music Publishing

Title: We’re Going Home
Artist: Vance Joy
Writers: James Keogh / Daniel Wilson*
Publishers: Mushroom Music obo UNIFIED Music Publishing / BMG Rights Management*

Urban Work of the Year

Title: Believe
Artist: Bliss n Eso feat. Mario
Writers: Max MacKinnon* / Jonathan Notley* / PJ Harding^ / Cameron Ludik^ / Damian Smith
Publishers: Mushroom Music* / Universal Music Publishing^

Title: Clark Griswold
Artist: Hilltop Hoods feat. Adrian Eagle
Writers: DJ Debris (Barry Francis)* / MC Pressure (Daniel Smith)* / Suffa (Matthew Lambert)* / John Bartlett / Paul Bartlett
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing*

Title: I Miss You
Artist: Thundamentals
Writers: Jeswon (Jesse Ferris)* / Morgs (Morgan Jones)* / Tuka (Brendan Tuckerman)* / Carl Dimataga
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing Allegro*

Title: Marryuna
Artist: Baker Boy feat. Yirrmal
Writers: Baker Boy / Dion Brownfield / Jerome Farah* / Yirrmal Marika
Publisher: Mushroom Music*

Title: Mr La Di Da Di
Artist: Baker Boy
Writers: Baker Boy / Dion Brownfield / Jerome Farah* / Dallas Woods
Publisher: Mushroom Music*

International Work of the Year

Title: Havana
Artist: Camila Cabello
Writers: Louis Bell* / Karla Cabello*/ Frank Dukes*^ / Kaan Gunesberk / Brittany Hazzard+ / Brian Lee~ / Ali Tamposi> / Yung Thug~> / Andrew Watt° / Pharrell Williams*
Publishers: Sony/ATV Music Publishing*/ Native Tongue Music Publishing+ / Warner/Chappell Music~ / Mushroom Music> / Kobalt Music Publishing°

Title: Meant To Be
Artist: Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line
Writers: David Garcia* / Tyler Hubbard^ / Joshua Miller+ / Bleta Rexha~
Publishers: Shout Music Publishing* / Native Tongue Music Publishing^ / Warner/Chappell Music+ / BMG Rights Management~

Title: Perfect
Artist: Ed Sheeran
Writer: Edward Sheeran
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing

Title: Rockstar
Artist: Post Malone feat. 21 Savage
Writers: 21 Savage*/ Olufunmibi Awoshiley^ / Louis Bell^/ Post Malone~ / Carl Rosen~ / Jo Virginie>
Publishers: BMG Rights Management* / Sony/ATV Music Publishing /
Universal/MCA Music Publishing~ / Mushroom Music>

Title: What About Us
Artist: P!nk
Writers: P!nk* / John McDaid^ / Mac Steve+
Publishers: Sony/ATV Music Publishing*/ Kobalt Music Publishing^ / Universal Music Publishing+

2019 APRA Music Awards

Tuesday, April 30th
Melbourne Town Hall, Melbourne, VIC

Hosted by Brian Nankervis
Musical Director Kate Miller-Heidke

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.