APRA members have spoken! A short list of 25 songs has been unveiled today as the challengers for the Peer-Voted APRA Song of the Year, with the winner to be announced at the 2021 APRA Music Awards in April. In what remains the largest peer-voted music award in Australia, the list represents the songs chosen by APRA members as the best of 2020.
The hits keep coming for a selection of shortlist songwriters who also had entries last year. In the running once again for 2021 are Kevin Parker with three Tame Impala songs (Is It True, It Might Be Time, Lost In Yesterday), Guy Sebastian (Standing With You), Hilltop Hoods (I’m Good?), last year’s winner Tones And I (Bad Child), Archie Roach (Tell Me Why), Paul Kelly (When We’re Both Old and Mad) and Birds of Tokyo (Two of Us).
There are also several newcomers in the shortlist mix. Andrew Farriss and the late Michael Hutchence have landed on the short list with Dua Lipa’s Break My Heart which samples the INXS classic Need You Tonight. Kylie Minogue makes her first appearance with Say Something as does Rob Hirst, Joel Davison and Bunna Lawrie for Midnight Oil’s Gadigal Land. Also included for the first time are songwriters Matthew Neighbour for his work on Matt Corby’s If I Never Say a Word, JessB who features on the Baker Boy track Meditjin and Michael Fatkin for Daryl Braithwaite’s Love Songs. Some of Australia’s favourite bands have also made their short list debut this year; Spacey Jane, Polaris, DMA’s and brother duo Lime Cordiale with co-writer David Haddad.
The final five nominees across all 2021 APRA Music Awards categories will be revealed in March and the winners announced when the awards return for the 39th time, this year in Sydney. The current plan is to move forward with a COVID-safe event on Wednesday 28 April 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. 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,” said Dean Ormston, APRA AMCOS CEO.
All APRA songwriter and publisher members who voted for the Peer-Voted APRA Song of the Year are automatically placed into the draw to win a cool $5,000 courtesy of Marsh.
APRA AMCOS thanks its current sponsors Marsh and The Industry Observer and welcomes event sponsors Songtradr, Jaxsta and Studios 301.
***Listed in alphabetical order of song title***
| Peer-Voted Song of the Year - Top 25 Short list | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Bad child |
| Artist: | Tones and I |
| Writers: | Toni Watson |
| Publisher: | Kobalt Music Publishing / Warner Chappell Music |
| Title: | Booster Seat |
| Artist: | Spacey Jane |
| Writers: | Ashton Hardman-Le Cornu / Caleb Harper / Kieran Lama / Peppa Lane |
| Publishers: | Kobalt Music Publishing obo Dew Process Publishing |
| Title: | Break My Heart |
| Artist: | Dua Lipa |
| Writers: | Andrew Farriss*^ / Michael Hutchence*^ / Dua Lipa^ / Jordan Johnson+ / Stefan Johnson> / Ali Tamposi# / Andrew Watt> |
| Publishers: | Warner Chappell Music* / Universal Music Publishing^ / BMG Rights Management+ / Kobalt Music Publishing>/ Mushroom Music# |
| Title: | Carry You |
| Artist: | Missy Higgins |
| Writers: | Tim Minchin |
| Publisher: | Kobalt Music Publishing |
| Title: | Everybody Rise |
| Artist: | Amy Shark |
| Writers: | Amy Shark / Joel Little* |
| Publisher: | Mushroom Music / Sony/ATV Music Publishing* |
| Title: | Gadigal Land |
| Artist: | Midnight Oil ft Dan Sultan, Joel Davison, Kaleena Briggs & Bunna Lawrie |
| Writers: | Robert Hirst* / Joel Davison / Bunna Lawrie |
| Publisher: | Sony/ATV Music Publishing* |
| Title: | Getting the Band Back Together |
| Artist: | Cold Chisel |
| Writers: | Don Walker |
| Publisher: | Sony/ATV Music Publishing |
| Title: | Ghosteen |
| Artist: | Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds |
| Writers: | Nick Cave / Warren Ellis |
| Publisher: | Kobalt Music Publishing |
| Title: | If I Never Say A Word |
| Artist: | Matt Corby |
| Writers: | Matt Corby* / Matthew Neighbour |
| Publisher: | Sony/ATV Music Publishing* |
| Title: | I’ll Take Lonely Tonight |
| Artist: | Tim Minchin |
| Writers: | Tim Minchin |
| Publisher: | Kobalt Music Publishing |
| Title: | I’m Good? |
| Artist: | Hilltop Hoods |
| Writers: | Barry Francis (DJ Debris) / Daniel Smith (MC Pressure)/ Matthew Lambert (Suffa) / John Bartlett* / Paul Bartlett* |
| Publisher: | Sony/ATV Music Publishing / Mushroom Music* |
| Title: | Is It True? |
| Artist: | Tame Impala |
| Writers: | Kevin Parker |
| Publisher: | Sony/ATV Music Publishing |
| Title: | It Might Be Time |
| Artist: | Tame Impala |
| Writers: | Kevin Parker |
| Publisher: | Sony/ATV Music Publishing |
| Title: | Lost In Yesterday |
| Artist: | Tame Impala |
| Writers: | Kevin Parker |
| Publisher: | Sony/ATV Music Publishing |
| Title: | Love Songs |
| Artist: | Daryl Braithwaite |
| Writers: | Michael Fatkin* / Rosalind Crane / David Snyder^ |
| Publisher: | Universal Music Publishing* / Warner Chappell Music^ |
| Title: | Masochist |
| Artist: | Polaris |
| Writers: | Jamie Hails/ Daniel Furnari / Rick Schneider / Ryan Siew / Jacob Steinhauser |
| Publisher: | Kobalt Music Publishing |
| Title: | Meditjin |
| Artist: | Baker Boy ft. JessB |
| Writers: | Danzal Baker / Jess Bourke* / Dion Brownfield^ / Jerome Farah+ / Dallas Woods^ |
| Publisher: | Native Tongue Music Publishing* / Kobalt Music Publishing^ / Mushroom Music+ |
| Title: | On Our Own |
| Artist: | Lime Cordiale |
| Writers: | Louis Leimbach* / Oli Leimbach* / David Haddad^ / Michael Wofford |
| Publisher: | Universal Music Publishing obo Chugg Music* / Kobalt Music Publishing^ |
| Title: | Say Something |
| Artist: | Kylie Minogue |
| Writers: | Kylie Minogue* / Jonathan Green^ / Ashley Howes / Richard Stannard+ |
| Publisher: | Mushroom Music* / Universal Music Publishing^ / Native Tongue Music Publishing+ |
| Title: | Silver |
| Artist: | DMA’s |
| Writers: | Matthew Mason* / Thomas O’Dell* / John Took* / Thomas Crandles^ / Liam Hoskins* / Joel Flyger |
| Publisher: | Mushroom Music* / Sony/ATV Music Publishing^ |
| Title: | Situation Room |
| Artist: | Something for Kate |
| Writers: | Stephanie Ashworth / Paul Dempsey / Clint Hyndman |
| Publisher: | Sony/ATV Music Publishing |
| Title: | Standing With You |
| Artist: | Guy Sebastian |
| Writers: | Guy Sebastian / Jamie Hartman* / Greg Holden^ |
| Publisher: | Universal Music Publishing / Mushroom Music* / Warner Chappell Music^ |
| Title: | Tell Me Why |
| Artist: | Archie Roach with Sally Dastey |
| Writers: | Archie Roach |
| Publisher: | Mushroom Music |
| Title: | Two Of Us |
| Artist: | Birds Of Tokyo |
| Writers: | Ian Berney / Ian Kenny / Glenn Sarangapany / Adam Spark / Adam Weston |
| Publisher: | Mushroom Music |
| Title: | When We’re Both Old and Mad |
| Artist: | Paul Kelly & Kasey Chambers |
| Writers: | Paul Kelly |
| Publisher: | Sony/ATV Music Publishing |
Click here for further information regarding eligibility for the Peer-Voted APRA Song of the Year and the APRA Music Awards