After a year-long hiatus, the Aotearoa Music Awards are back this week to celebrate the best artists and music from New Zealand.
The finalists were announced last month, with Stan Walker and Avantdale Bowling Club’s Tom Scott leading the charge with a significant number of nominations each.
There’s lost time to make up for due to the self-imposed hiatus: the eligibility period for the 2024 Aotearoa Music Awards being extended to 17 months (August 1st, 2022-December 31st-2023), which means the competition in each category is fiercer than ever.
Ahead of this year’s awards, which take place this Thursday, May 30th at Auckland’s Viaduct Events Centre, our editorial team has considered the runners and riders and predicted the winners in 12 of the major categories.
More information about the 2024 Aotearoa Music Awards can be found here.
Te Tino Pukaemi o te Tau | Album of the Year
The Nominees
Avantdale Bowling Club – TREES
COTERIE – COTERIE
Erny Belle – Not Your Cupid
Home Brew – Run It Back
LEISURE – Leisurevision
Marlon Williams – My Boy
Paige – King Clown
Princess Chelsea – Everything Is Going to Be Alright
Stan Walker – All In
The Beths – Expert in a Dying Field
Tiny Ruins – Ceremony
Unknown Mortal Orchestra – V
Who Should Win
Erny Belle, Not Your Cupid
Erny Belle’s beautiful second album deservedly took out the top spot in our Best New Zealand Albums of 2023 countdown, and she was unlucky to miss out on the 2024 Taite Music Prize earlier this year. There are bigger names than the Ngāpuhi singer-songwriter in what is a supremely competitive category, but Not Your Cupid deserves its moment in the national spotlight.
Who Will Win
The Beths, Expert in a Dying Field
The Beths’ track record at the Aotearoa Music Awards (they won three awards, including Album of the Year, in 2020) should see them through. Their third album, a pristine collection of power-pop anthems, would be a worthy winner.
Te Tino Waiata o te Tau | Single of the Year
The Nominees
Aaradhna – “SHE”
Avantdale Bowling Club – “Friday Night at the Liquor Store”
Corrella – “Blue Eyed Māori”
COTERIE – “Always Beside You” (ft. Six60)
Fazerdaze – “Bigger”
Home Brew – “Run It Back”
Kaylee Bell – “Boots ‘N All”
L.A.B – “Take It Away”
Marlon Williams – “Don’t Go Back”
Mermaidens – “I Like to Be Alone”
Stan Walker – “I AM”
The Beths – “Watching the Credits”
Who Should Win
Stan Walker, “I AM”
There’s only going to be winner in this category, despite strong offerings from Fazerdaze, COTERIE, and Marlon Williams in particular. Walker took Māori pride to Hollywood with his Oscar-worthy song for Ava DuVernay’s latest film, Origin, after the acclaimed filmmaker was overwhelmed at hearing the Kiwi artist’s stunning vocals.
Who Will Win
Stan Walker, “I AM”
See above.
Te Tino Kāhui Manu Taki o te Tau | Best Group
The Nominees
The Beths
Home Brew
LEISURE
Mermaidens
Tiny Ruins
Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Who Should Win
The Beths
The Beths are the best Aotearoa group of their generation for a reason. Expert in a Dying Field became their first chart-topping album in their home country, and the album cycle has seen them support The National, tour across North America, and make their NPR Tiny Desk Concert debut.
Who Will Win
Home Brew
Everyone loves a good comeback story, and Home Brew’s return was one of the best things about New Zealand music last year. Their new album, Run It Back, showed that an absence of a decade and a bit hadn’t diminished the group’s talent.
Te Tino Reo o te Tau | Best Solo Artist
The Nominees
Avantdale Bowling Club
Fazerdaze
Kaylee Bell
Marlon Williams
Princess Chelsea
Stan Walker
Who Should Win
Fazerdaze
The return of Fazerdaze, aka Amelia Murray, was one of the most pleasing things to happen in New Zealand music in the 2020s so far. On her 2022 EP Break!, her first release in five years, she sounded renewed artistically, showcasing sharpened touches to her classic bedroom pop sound.
Who Will Win
Kaylee Bell
Recency bias can be a powerful thing, and Kaylee Bell has been on a phenomenal run over the past year. After becoming the first Kiwi since Keith Urban to win at the prestigious US Country Music Awards, the Nashville-based singer-songwriter released her new album, Nights Like This, in March.
Te Manu Taki Māori o te Tau | Best Māori Artist
The Nominees
Jordyn with a Why
MOHI
Rei
Stan Walker
TAWAZ
Tuari Brothers
Who Should Win
Jordan with a Why
Jordyn with a Why released several swooning anthems last year, including “He Rei Niho”, which followed her well-received 2022 release “Brown Melodies”, which was nominated for Best Single at the 2022 Māori Awards. She also showcased her music at the inaugural SXSW Sydney armed with her beautiful waiata.
Who Will Win
Stan Walker
It’s difficult to look past the star power of Walker, who has also hosted the Aotearoa Music Awards before, in this category. His commitment to showcasing Māori music and culture on the grandest stages should see him triumph.
Te Manu Taki Whanokē o te Tau | Best Alternative Artist
The Nominees
Grecco Romank
Mermaidens
Princess Chelsea
Who Should Win
Grecco Romank
Let the weirdos win! Weirdos, rise up! It’s easy to dismiss Grecco Romank as wilful provocateurs in the mould of Kirin J Callinan, but their genre-defying sound marries the silly and sublime better than most of their peers. And in the Best Alternative Artist category, you really can’t get more alternative than the Auckland trio.
Who Will Win
Princess Chelsea
The 2023 Taite Music Prize winner will likely make it two big wins in two years. The incredibly consistent art-pop artist told Rolling Stone AU/NZ last year about feeling slightly unrecognised in her home country, but thankfully that seems to be changing recently.
Te Manu Taki Tuawhenua o te Tau | Best Country Artist
The Nominees
Kaylee Bell
Matt Joe Gow
The Mitchell Twins
Who Should Win
Kaylee Bell
The Mitchell Twins and Matt Joe Gow will have their supporters, but Kaylee Bell’s breakout period is impossible to ignore.
Who Will Win
Kaylee Bell
See above.
Te Manu Taki Tāhiko o te Tau | Best Electronic Artist
The Nominees
Amamelia
deepState
Elipsa
Who Should Win
deepState
Auckland independent label Sunreturn (featured in our Meet the Label series last year) has two chances of winning in this category, but deepState’s immersive 2023 album Dreams should see her edge out her talented Australian-based producer labelmate Amamelia.
Who Will Win
Elipsa
If commercial favour comes into play, Elipsa easily overwhelms her competitors in this category. 14K Instagram followers and counting, almost 300,000 monthly Spotify listeners, and key festival slots have seen Elipsa rise to the top of New Zealand’s drum ‘n’ bass scene.
Te Manu Taki Ātete o te Tau | Best Hip Hop Artist
The Nominees
Avantdale Bowling Club
Diggy Dupé
Home Brew
Who Should Win
Avantdale Bowling Club
It would be unfair for Tom Scott to walk away empty-handed on Thursday evening despite having so many nominations. And Avantdale Bowling Club’s 2022 album TREES was one of the best New Zealand releases of that year.
Who Will Win
Avantdale Bowling Club
If, as we’ve predicted, Home Brew wins in the Best Group category, then it should leave the path clear for Scott to win Best Hip Hop Artist for his other project.
Te Manu Taki Arotini o te Tau | Best Pop Artist
The Nominees
Foley
Georgia Lines
Paige
Who Should Win
Georgia Lines
In one of the toughest categories to call, Georgia Lines‘ growing star power should see her win. With her, The Rose of Jericho, dropping on June 7th, an Aotearoa Music Awards would make this a month to remember.
Who Will Win
Foley
The fact that Foley’s debut album, Crowd Pleaser, came out during the eligibility period might count for them against Lines. It’s also an excellently produced collection of pure pop.
Te Manu Taki Taketake o te Tau | Best Roots Artist
The Nominees
Corrella
COTERIE
Sons of Zion
Who Should Win
COTERIE
The Australian-based reggae rockers won Best New Artist at last year’s Rolling Stone Aotearoa Awards for a reason. Approved by Sir Dave Dobbyn himself, the band of brothers have gone from strength to strength over the past couple of years.
Who Will Win
COTERIE
COTERIE’s collective charisma and festival-ready anthems will likely prove popular with the judging panel.
Te Manu Taki Manako o te Tau | Best Soul/RnB Artist
The Nominees
Aaradhna
Dallas Tamaira
Sam V
Who Should Win
Dallas Tamaira
Another tough category to call, but Dallas Tamara’s band, Fat Freddy’s Drop, are Aotearoa Music Awards icons, and his strong solo output should also win favour with the judging panel.
Who Will Win
Dallas Tamaira
It’s a similar story here as it was for Best Country Artist: like Kaylee Bell, Tamaira’s popularity will see him over the line.
