As the year begins to come to a close, national broadcaster triple j have unveiled the nominees for their annual J Awards.
Now in its 16th year, the J Awards have served as a way for triple j to recognise the artists who have achieved the most throughout the past year. Across categories such as the triple j Australian Album of the Year, the Double J Artist of the Year, the Unearthed Artist of the Year, the triple j and Rage Australian Music Video of the Year, and the newly-added Done Good Award, five vital members of the local industry have their hard work recognises on a national stage.
“2020 has been a year like no other, but what has remained consistent is the continuous output of incredible local music,” a press release from triple j explained. “The music community are often the first to offer help in a crisis, despite themselves being some of the hardest hit.
“So this year as we celebrate the originality, creativity and technical excellence of the Australian artists and community in the J Awards, we recognise these achievements occurred at a time of great social change, which you can see reflected in a lot of their work.”
This year’s nominees see a litany of exceptional albums making the cut for the Australian Album of the Year award, including records by Alice Ivy, DMA’S, Gordi, Miiesha, and The Kid LAROI. The most recently-released addition is Ball Park Music’s self-titled effort, while Tame Impala are up for a potential record-setting third award with The Slow Rush.
The Artist of the Year nominations see the likes of Archie Roach, Gordi, L-FRESH The LION, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, and Washington going head-to-head, while the race for the Unearthed Artist of the Year award will be between Jaguar Jonze, JK-47, Mia Rodriguez, Sycco, and Yours Truly.
Meanwhile, the Australian Music Video of the Year award sees the likes of OneFour, Sampa The Great, Tasman Keith, Tkay Maidza, and Violent Soho all battling it out.
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Lastly, the newest award on the bill, the Done Good Award, will this year be one of the most hotly-contended of them all. Recognising the Australian who has made a significant impact upon the industry, the year that has been has served as a breeding ground for altruistic acts, with the likes of Fire Fight Australia, Isol-Aid, Lucas Sutton’s Support Act charity raffle, Mushroom Group/MCH’s musical broadcasting endeavours (including Music From The Home Front, The State Of Music and The Sound), and Ziggy Ramo’s advocacy for First Nations people during the Black Lives Matter movement all being recognised.
While it looks set to be a tough race, the 2020 J Awards will be unveiled throughout the day on Thursday, November 19th, on triple j, triple j Unearthed and Double J.
2020 J Awards Nominees
triple j Australian Album of the Year nominees
Alice Ivy, Don’t Sleep
Ball Park, Ball Park Music
DMA’S, The Glow
Gordi, Our Two Skins
JK-47, Made For This
Lime Cordiale, 14 Steps To A Better You
Miiesha, Nyaaringu
Spacey Jane, Sunlight
Tame Impala, The Slow Rush
The Kid LAROI, F*ck Love
Double J Artist of the Year nominees
Archie Roach
Gordi
L-FRESH The LION
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever
Washington
Unearthed Artist of the Year nominees
Jaguar Jonze
JK-47
Mia Rodriguez
Sycco
Yours Truly
triple j and Rage Australian Music Video of the Year nominees
OneFour, ‘Welcome To Prison’ Directed by Jon Baxter and Nick Stevens
Sampa The Great, ‘Time’s Up’ {ft. Krown} Directed by Sanjay De Silva
Tasman Keith, ‘Billy Bad Again’ Directed by Joey Hunter
Tkay Maidza, ‘Don’t Call Again’ {ft. Kari Faux} Directed by Tkay Maidza and Jordan Kirk
Violent Soho, ‘Pick It Up Again’ Directed by Dan Graetz
Done Good Award nominees
Fire Fight Australia: for raising over $11 million for bushfire relief through an epic stadium concert and live television broadcast
Isol-Aid: for their innovation in producing over 30 online music festivals with local and international artists to raise money during COVID
Lucas Sutton: the 15 year old who got Aussie bands like Violent Soho, Dune Rats, Tired Lion and more behind a Support Act charity raffle
Mushroom Group/MCH: for bringing music to the masses during COVID via Music From The Home Front, The State Of Music and The Sound
Ziggy Ramo: for his leadership and advocacy of First Nations people during the Black Lives Matter movement in Australia
