Of course, there’s some pretty predictable inclusions in this year’s list: as to be expected, there’s plenty of Tones And I, who’s up for four nominations for the mega-smash ‘Dance Monkey’. Given the amount of ARIA Chart records that track broke, we’re predicting she’s going to sweep this ceremony.
Elsewhere, The Teskey Brothers have also picked up a bunch of nominations for ‘I Get Up’, while Guy Sebastian is also listed three times for his track ‘Church.’ There’s also nods to Thelma Plum, Hilltop Hoods, Sampa The Great, Dean Lewis, John Butler, Polish Club, Matt Corby and Tash Sultana to round out a who’s who of the Australian music industry. Weirdly enough, it also seems that APRA are continuing to lump artists into the extremely outdated and problematic ‘Urban’ category for this year’s awards – lame.
In a statement accompanying the announcement, APRA AMCOS Chief Executive Dean Ormston applauded the efforts of those working behind the scenes in the music industry, saying “Our songwriters give us so much – they contribute enormously to our economic and cultural wealth, and in a world of self-isolation, never has the comfort, poignancy, or uplift of a song been more important!”
Suss out all the nominees below. This year’s awards are set to be live-streamed on Tuesday May 26, so be sure to tune in.
2020 APRA MUSIC AWARDS NOMINEES
Peer-Voted APRA Song of the Year
Thelma Plum – Better In Blak
Guy Sebastian – Choir
Tones & I – Dance Monkey
The Teskey Brothers – I Get Up
5 Seconds Of Summer – Teeth
Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year
Ruel
Sampa The Great
Thelma Plum
Liam Gough, Brendon Love, Josh Teskey & Sam Teskey, (The Teskey Brothers)
Tones And I
Most Performed Australian Work
Dean Lewis – 7 Minutes
Guy Sebastian – Choir
Tones & I – Dance Monkey
Birds of Tokyo – Good Lord
KIAN – Waiting
Most Performed Alternative Work
The Rubens – God Forgot
Birds Of Tokyo – Good Lord
Matt Corby – Miracle Love
Gretta Ray – Radio Silence
KIAN – Waiting
Most Performed Blues & Roots Work
Tash Sultana – Blackbird
The Teskey Brothers – I Get Up
John Butler Trio – Just Call
Ziggy Alberts – Laps Around The Sun
Busby Marou – Sound Of Summer
Most Performed Country Work
Lee Kernaghan – Backroad Nation
Maren Morris – Girl
Travis Collins – Happy
Seaforth – Love That
Troy Cassar-Daley – Wouldn’t Change A Thing
Morgan Evans – Young Again
Most Performed Dance Work
Hayden James feat. Running Touch – Better Together
PNAU feat. Kira Divine & Marques Toliver – Solid Gold
Peking Duk feat. Jack River – Sugar
Dom Dolla – Take It
RÜFÜS DU SOL – Treat You Better
Most Performed Pop Work
Dean Lewis – 7 Minutes
Amy Shark – All Loved Up
Guy Sebastian – Choir
Tones & I – Dance Monkey
Katy Perry – Never Really Over
Most Performed Rock Work
Polish Club – Clarity
Ruby Fields – Dinosaurs
Slowly Slowly – Jellyfish
Jimmy Barnes feat. Troy Cassar-Daley – Shutting Down Our Town
The Living End – Otherside
Most Performed Urban Work
Baker Boy – Cool As Hell
Hilltop Hoods feat. Illy & Ecca Vandal – Exit Sign
Hilltop Hoods – Leave Me Lonely
Illy – Then What
Triple One – Butter
Most Performed International Work
Marshmello feat. Bastille – Happier
Mark Ronson feat. Miley Cyrus – Nothing Breaks Like A Heart
Calvin Harris & Sam Smith – Promises
Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper – Shallow
Post Malone & Swae Lee – Sunflower
Head to the APRA AMCOS website to find out more about this year’s nominees.
