APRA unveils 25-strong shortlist for Song of the Year, announces in-person award ceremony
APRA has unveiled the shortlist of 25 songs for its peer-voted APRA Song of the Year.
The organisation also confirmed that after going virtual last year, it is planning for the 39th APRA Music Awards, during which the Song of the Year winner is announced, to be a live ceremony in Sydney. The event is scheduled for Wednesday April 28 at the International Convention Centre Grand Ballroom at Darling Harbour.
“As Australia slowly begins recovering from the coronavirus pandemic, our industry is still largely on pause,” explained APRA AMCOS chief executive Dean Ormston.
“After such a difficult year, our sincere hope is that we can stage a traditional live ceremony for the 2021 APRA Music Awards.
“A physical event would announce that we’re in a new era, one where we can celebrate the Australian songwriters that have excelled despite one of the most challenging years in memory. We hope to see you there in the flesh.”
Seven of the songwriters in this year’s shortlist were also nominated last year. They are Tones And I (the 2020 winner), Kevin Parker with three Tame Impala songs, Paul Kelly with two, Guy Sebastian, Hilltop Hoods, Archie Roach and Birds of Tokyo.
As for publishers, Sony/ATV Music Publishing had the highest tally with 11 mentions, followed by Kobalt Music Publishing with nine and Mushroom Music with eight. The others were Universal Music Publishing with six, Warner Chappell Music with three, Native Tongue with two, and BMG Rights Management, Chugg Music and Dew Process with one each.
According to APRA, there are also several newcomers in the mix. Andrew Farriss and the late Michael Hutchence landed on the list thanks to Dua Lipa’s ‘Break My Heart’, which samples the INXS classic ‘Need You Tonight’.
Kylie Minogue makes her debut with ‘Say Something’, as do Rob Hirst, Joel Davison and Bunna Lawrie for Midnight Oil’s ‘Gadigal Land’.
Also included for the first time are songwriters Matthew Neighbour, JessB and Michael Fatkin, while bands making their shortlist debut this year are Spacey Jane, Polaris, DMA’S and brother duo Lime Cordiale with co-writer David Haddad.
Tim Minchin (Credit: Tony Mott)
The 2021 APRA Song of the Year shortlist:
‘Bad Child’ – Tones And I – Toni Watson (Kobalt Music Publishing + Warner Chappell Music)
‘Booster Seat’ – Spacey Jane – Ashton Hardman-Le Cornu / Caleb Harper / Kieran Lama / Peppa Lane (Kobalt Music Publishing obo Dew Process Publishing)
‘Break My Heart’ – Dua Lipa – Andrew Farriss*^ / Michael Hutchence^ / Dua Lipa^ / Jordan Johnson / Stefan Johnson> / Ali Tamposi# / Andrew Watt> (Warner Chappell Music* / Universal Music Publishing^ / BMG Rights Management+ / Kobalt Music Publishing>/ Mushroom Music#)
‘Carry You’ – Missy Higgins – Tim Minchin (Kobalt Music Publishing)
‘Everybody Rise’ – Amy Shark – Amy Shark / Joel Little* (Mushroom Music / Sony/ATV Music Publishing*)
‘Gadigal Land’ – Midnight Oil ft Dan Sultan, Joel Davison, Kaleena Briggs & Bunna Lawrie – Rob Hirst* / Joel Davison / Bunna Lawrie^ (Sony/ATV Music Publishing* / Universal Music Publishing^)
‘Getting The Band Back Together’ – Cold Chisel – Don Walker (Sony/ATV Music Publishing)
‘Ghosteen’ – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Nick Cave / Warren Ellis (Kobalt Music Publishing)
‘If I Never Say A Word’ – Matt Corby – Matt Corby* / Matthew Neighbour (Sony/ATV Music Publishing*)
‘I’ll Take Lonely Tonight’ – Tim Minchin – Tim Minchin (Kobalt Music Publishing)
‘I’m Good’ – Hilltop Hoods – Barry Francis (DJ Debris)* / Daniel Smith (MC Pressure)* / Matthew Lambert (Suffa)* / John Bartlett / Paul Bartlett (Sony/ATV Music Publishing*)
‘Is It True’ – Tame Impala – Kevin Parker (Sony/ATV Music Publishing)
‘It Might Be Time’ – Tame Impala – Kevin Parker (Sony/ATV Music Publishing)
‘Lost In Yesterday’ – Tame Impala – Kevin Parker (Sony/ATV Music Publishing)
‘Love Songs’ – Daryl Braithwaite – Michael Fatkin* / Rosalind Crane / David Snyder^ (Universal Music Publishing* / Warner Chappell Music^)
‘Masochist’ – Polaris – Jamie Hails/ Daniel Furnari / Rick Schneider / Ryan Siew / Jacob Steinhauser (Kobalt Music Publishing)
‘Meditjin’ – Baker Boy ft JessB) – Danzal Baker / Jess Bourke* / Dion Brownfield^ / Jerome Farah+ / Dallas Woods^ (Native Tongue Music Publishing* / Kobalt Music Publishing^ / Mushroom Music+)
‘On Our Own’ – Lime Cordiale – Louis Leimbach* / Oli Leimbach* / David Haddad^ / Michael Wofford (Universal Music Publishing obo Chugg Music* / Kobalt Music Publishing^)
‘Say Something’ – Kylie Minogue – Kylie Minogue* / Jonathan Green^ / Ashley Howes / Richard Stannard+ (Mushroom Music* / Universal Music Publishing^ / Native Tongue Music Publishing+)
‘Silver’ – DMAs – Matthew Mason* / Thomas O’Dell* / John Took* / Thomas Crandles^ / Liam Hoskins* / Joel Flyger (Mushroom Music* / Sony/ATV Music Publishing^)
‘Situation Room’ – Something For Kate – Stephanie Ashworth / Paul Dempsey / Clint Hyndman (Sony/ATV Music Publishing)
‘Standing With You’ – Guy Sebastian – Guy Sebastian / Jamie Hartman* / Greg Holden^ (Universal Music Publishing / Mushroom Music* / Warner Chappell Music^)
‘Tell Me Why’ – Archie Roach with Sally Dastey – Archie Roach (Mushroom Music)
‘Two Of Us’ – Birds of Tokyo – Ian Berney / Ian Kenny / Glenn Sarangapany / Adam Spark / Adam Weston (Mushroom Music)
‘When We’re Both Old And Mad’ – Paul Kelly & Kasey Chambers – Paul Kelly (Sony/ATV Music Publishing)