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Grammy kudos: Mike Waters, INXS and Chris 'TEK' O'Ryan

Media Published Tuesday 16 March 2021
Mike Waters, INXS. Chris TEK O'Ryan

L-R: Mike Waters, Michael Hutchence and Andrew Farriss, Chris 'TEK' O'Ryan.

Congratulations to our members Mike Waters, INXS' Andrew Farris and the late Michael Hutchence, and Chris 'TEK' O'Ryan for their contributions to award winners at the 2021 Grammys.

They come from an outstanding list of 16 Australian and New Zealand songwriters/groups receiving nominations and/or who contributed to nominated works across multiple categories.

Winners

Songwriter and artist Mike Waters is a co-writer on 'U Move, I Move' by John Legend featuring Jhené Aiko from Legend's Bigger Love, which won the Grammy for Best R&B Album.

Waters spoke to Musicfeeds last year about the song's origins.

"I co-wrote this song in LA with two legends named Trey Campbell and Jonas Karlsson. We all loved the idea of writing a song about commitment and vulnerability from a guy’s perspective, and this is what we came up with. I really wanted to pitch it to some male artists initially (or at least a duet) but nobody could figure out which male artists might be interested in being that openly vulnerable. Instead it got pitched to some female artists, but thankfully never got picked up, because John Legend heard it and he had some ideas. He and Jhené Aiko were 100% the perfect fit for this song, and with their contributions I feel like it’s become something really special."


You may have noticed Dua Lipa's 'Break My Heart' on the Peer-Voted APRA Song of the Year top 25 short list and that's because her 2020 iso-dancefloor anthem samples the INXS classic Need You Tonight, with songwriting credit to Farris and Hutchence. Dua Lipa was the winner for Best Pop Vocal Album for her massive Future Nostalgia.


Grammy Award-winning engineer/producer Chris 'TEK' O'Ryan has played key roles on some of the biggest hits of the 2000s. So, it's no surprise to see him credited as an engineer on '10,000 Hours' by Dan + Shay with Justin Bieber, which won Best Country Duo/Group Performance. The massive country/pop crossover debuted in the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won two American Music Awards.

A frequent collaborator of Bieber's, TEK was part of three other nominations:

  • Best Pop Vocal Album - Changes
  • Best Pop Duo/Group Performance - Justin Bieber ft. Quavo - 'Intentions'
  • Best Pop Solo Performance - 'Yummy'