2025 Aotearoa Music Awards: Who Will Win, Who Should Win

The Aotearoa Music Awards (AMAs) return this week to celebrate the best artists and music from New Zealand.

The finalists were announced last month, Rolling Stone AU/NZ Musicians on Musicians artist Stan Walker and genre-blending trailblazer CHAII leading the way with five nominations apiece.

Close behind them are country-pop star Kaylee Bell, soul and R&B icon Aaradhna, pop singer-songwriter Georgia Lines, and innovative producer MOKOTRON, each securing four nominations across the sprawling categories.

Celebrating 60 years of the music awards in Aotearoa, the 2025 AMAs will be held at Auckland’s Viaduct Events Centre on Thursday, May 29th.

Ahead of Thursday’s ceremony, which will close out Te Marama Puoro o Aotearoa | NZ Music Month in style, our editorial team considered the runners and riders in 16 of the main categories, deliberating over who we think will win and who we think should win each award.

Check out our picks below.

More information about the 2025 Aotearoa Music Awards can be found here. The ceremony will be live-streamed via rnz.co.nz and across its social media channels. Viewers who don’t catch the live broadcast will be able to stream the awards on TVNZ+ from the evening of Friday, May 30th.

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2025 Aotearoa Music Awards

NZ On Air Te Tino Pukaemi o te Tau | Album of the Year

Aaradhna – Sweet Surrender
Anna Coddington – Te Whakamiha
CHAII – Safar
Fazerdaze – Soft Power
Georgia Lines – The Rose of Jericho
Jordan Rakei – The Loop
Kaylee Bell – Nights Like This
L.A.B – L.A.B VI
Mel Parsons – Sabotage
MOKOTRON – WAEREA
Tami Neilson – Neilson Sings Nelson
Troy Kingi – Leatherman and the Mojave Green

Who Will Win
CHAII – Safar

Leading the nominations with five nods (alongside Walker), it’s more than likely that CHAII will score big on the night. Expect Album of the Year to be one of the gongs she earns for Safar, a remarkably confident – and long-awaited – debut album that was worth the wait.

Who Should Win
Fazerdaze – Soft Power

Sometimes it’s the story behind an album, just as much as the music itself, that helps sell a record to awards voters. Fazerdaze finally released her second album, seven long years after her acclaimed debut Morningside, last year, and the quality of Soft Power made it seem like she’d never been away. Soft Power deservedly topped our Best New Zealand Albums of 2024 list, and more honours should come the album’s way.

Spotify Te Tino Waiata o te Tau | Single of the Year

Cassie Henderson – “Seconds to Midnight (11.59)”
CHAII – “We Be Killing It”
Fazerdaze – “Cherry Pie”
Georgia Lines – “The Letter”
JessB – “Power” (ft. Sister Nancy & Sampa the Great)
Kaylee Bell – “Cowboy Up”
Lorde – “Girl, so confusing featuring lorde” (Charli XCX, Lorde)
MOKOMOKAI – “KUPE” (ft. MELODOWNZ)
Reb Fountain – “Come Down”
Stan Walker – “Māori Ki Te Ao”
Theia – “BALDH3AD!”
Troy Kingi – “Silicone Booby Trap”

Who Will Win
Lorde – “Girl, so confusing featuring lorde” (Charli XCX, Lorde)

It couldn’t be anything else, could it? Yes, it’s not technically Lorde’s song, but no other entry in this list was so zeitgeist-grabbing or viral-making than this Charli XCX collaboration. With Lorde’s album rollout ramping up too, the AMAs will likely want to capitalise by awarding Lorde in the only category she features in this year.

Who Should Win
JessB – “Power” (ft. Sister Nancy & Sampa the Great)

JessB’s debut album opened with “Power”, a collaboration with two music heavyweights in the form of Sampa the Great and dancehall reggae legend Sister Nancy. A lesser artist would perhaps have crumbled under the pressure of beginning their first record like that, but JessB more than held her own.

The message behind “Power” was clear: JessB knew she belongs in such esteemed company, and she wanted us to know it too. Such blistering self-confidence deserves to be lauded.

Te Tino Kāhui Manu Taki o te Tau | Best Group

Corrella – Skeletons
DARTZ – Dangerous Day to Be a Cold One
Earth Tongue – Great Haunting
Foley
L.A.B – L.A.B VI
SKILAA – Tiger in the River

Who Will Win
L.A.B – L.A.B VI

Oh, how the AMAs love L.A.B (Just like most of New Zealand). Winners of Album of the Year two years in a row between 2011-2022, that category is too strong for L.A.B this year, but they’ll stand a better chance in the smaller Best Group category.

Who Should Win
DARTZ – Dangerous Day to Be a Cold One

SKILAA, Corrella, and Earth Tongue were all deserved entrants in our Best New Zealand Albums of 2024 list (and Foley can expect to challenge in our 2025 edition with new album That’s Life, Baby!), but Dangerous Day to Be a Cold One took DARTZ to the next level.

We gave the Flying Nun band’s second album a four-star review: “It’s always a dangerous day to be a cold one when The Band From Wellington are around, but it’s also a dangerous day to be a ramshackle Kiwi pub-slash-music venue when DARTZ are kicking about: their raucous punk rock songs are made for the live setting, to be performed wildly in front of a packed pit of ecstatic revellers.”

Spotify Te Tino Reo o te Tau | Best Solo Artist

Aaradhna – Sweet Surrender
Fazerdaze – Soft Power
Georgia Lines – The Rose of Jericho
Kaylee Bell – Nights Like This
MOKOTRON – WAEREA
Stan Walker

Who Will Win
Stan Walker

A runner-up in this category before, Walker’s time to be crowned Best Solo Artist might be about to arrive. “I AM”, which recently featured in the Ava DuVernay film Origin, widened his global profile. Walker then followed that 2023 release up with a string of beautiful songs last year.

Who Should Win
Fazerdaze – Soft Power

Released in 2017, Fazerdaze’s breakout debut album Morningside would have swept awards season in any other year, but 2017 was also the year that Lorde unleashed Melodrama on the world, earning the pop superstar multiple AMAs trophies. Seven years later, Fazerdaze’s second album heralded a more accomplished and confident performer ready to seize her moment back in the limelight.

“[…] the Aotearoa artist broadens her lush sonic palette with heavier synths, electronics, and scuzzy rock touches, pushing the boundaries of her indie pop while retaining the raw intimacy that defined her quietly brilliant earlier work,” we praised in a four-star review.

Te Māngai Pāho Mana Reo

Anna Coddington – Te Whakamiha
Haami Tuari – Taku Kaenga
Jordyn With a Why – “Reia”
Stan Walker – “Māori Ki Te Ao”
TAWAZ – “Tātarakihi” (ft. MOHI)
Tuari Brothers – “Higher”

Who Will Win
Anna Coddington – Te Whakamiha

The Mana Reo award, which recognises recordings with at least 50% te reo Māori content, could really go to any artist in this stellar category this year, but Anna Coddington’s vibrant album will likely have too much power for its competitors. When your album’s opening track, “Kātuarehe”, wins the top prize at the 2024 APRA Silver Scroll Awards, you’re going to attract attention.

Who Should Win 
Anna Coddington – Te Whakamiha

See above. The variety displayed in Coddington’s full album should see it overcome the other artist’s waiata.

Te Māngai Pāho Te Manu Taki Māori o te Tau | Best Māori Artist

Anna Coddington – Te Whakamiha
Corrella – Skeletons
Jordyn with a Why – Hibiscus Moon, Love & Justice
MOHI
Stan Walker
TAWAZ

Who Will Win
Stan Walker

If, as we predict, Coddington’s excellent album earns her the Mana Reo Award, expect Walker to be named Best Māori Artist, especially with two of this category’s nominees – Corrella and TAWAZ – being winners at the 2024 AMAs.

Who Should Win
Jordyn with a Why – Hibiscus Moon, Love & Justice

If voters decide to go for a less established name instead, they should look no further than Jordyn with a Why. The rising star’s stylish and smooth R&B record was a standout last year, landing in the Top 30 of our Best New Zealand Albums of 2024 countdown.

“Jordyn with a Why would deserve a place on this list for that wonderful album title alone,” we wrote. “Thankfully the music on Hibiscus Moon, Love & Justice is as good as the album’s name, the Māori-Samoan artist weaving silky R&B magic over 10 tracks.”

Te Manu Taki Whanokē o te Tau | Best Alternative Artist

Jim Nothing – Grey Eyes, Grey Lynn
Louisa Nicklin – The Big Sulk
Vera Ellen – heartbreak for jetlag

Who Will Win
Jim Nothing – Grey Eyes, Grey Lynn

The Best Alternative Artist category is always a tough one to call, and it’ll be no different this year. Former Taite Music Prize winner Vera Ellen is one of New Zealand’s very best rock musicians, and The Big Sulk showed Louisa Nicklin to be a singer-songwriter of some talent, but Jim Nothing’s Grey Eyes, Grey Lynn was an instant Kiwi indie rock classic.

“Make no mistake, Grey Eyes, Grey Lynn is a very New Zealand record,” we noted when placing the Auckland artist’s album in the Top 10 of our Best New Zealand Albums of 2024 list.

“As Jim Nothing, [James] Sullivan possesses a Lenderman-esque relatability, writing about Kiwi characters with care and precision. The history of New Zealand indie rock is upheld by normal people with extraordinary musical talent, and Sullivan is just the most recent example.”

Who Should Win
Jim Nothing – Grey Eyes, Grey Lynn

See above. An AMAs win would be a moment to treasure for an independent artist like Sullivan.

Te Manu Taki Tuawhenua o te Tau | Best Country Music Artist

Barry Saunders and Delaney Davidson – Happiness Is Near
Kaylee Bell – Nights Like This
Tami Neilson – Neilson Sings Nelson

Who Will Win
Tami Neilson – Neilson Sings Nelson

Kaylee Bell confirmed her star status with Nights Like This last year, but she also won Best Music Country Artist at the 2024 AMAs. That will likely leave this category open for another winner, and Tami Neilson’s loving tribute album to Willie Nelson should see her narrowly beat the powerhouse duo of Barry Saunders and Delaney Davidson.

Who Should Win
Tami Neilson – Neilson Sings Nelson

Neilson speaks so highly of her friend and collaborator: “When I hear Willie’s music, I can feel the olive green shag carpet of my childhood living room between my fingers, playing with my little brothers on the floor, his music deeply embedded in our DNA. Fast forward 40 years and I’m playing with my little brothers once again, standing in Willie Nelson’s studio lined with shelves of reel to reels labelled Red Headed Stranger while we sing ‘Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain’. Surreal doesn’t even begin to describe the feeling. But, my hope is that this album has given you a small taste of it.”

It’s a love that shines throughout the carefully curated Neilson Sings Nelson. A beautiful tribute record.

Te Manu Taki Tāhiko o te Tau | Best Electronic Artist

CHAII – Safar
Lee Mvtthews – EXIT
MOKOTRON – WAEREA

Who Will Win
CHAII – Safar

Nominated in five categories, being named Best Electronic Artist represents one of CHAII’s best chances at winning on the night. Surprise wins do occur in this category, but CHAII, who’s also set to perform at Thursday’s ceremony, should have enough power and standing to attract voters. (One could dispute, however, whether CHAII should be classified as an electronic artist, such is her penchant for genre-hopping.)

Who Should Win
MOKOTRON – WAEREA

Winner of the 2025 Taite Music Prize and winner of Best Electronic Artist at the AMAs? Don’t bet against it. MOKOTRON’s album earned a glowing review from us, as well as a Top 3 position in our Best New Zealand Albums of 2024 countdown.

“MOKOTRON is a Māori producer who makes electronic music that explores their Indigenous identity, and WAEREA might be their most personal project yet,” we wrote in the review.

Te Manu Taki Ahurea o te Tau | Best Folk Artist

Holly Arrowsmith – Blue Dreams
Kerryn Fields – The Folk Singer
Mel Parsons – Sabotage

Who Will Win
Holly Arrowsmith – Blue Dreams

Another stacked category, but Holly Arrowsmith’s beautiful album just edges Mel Parsons and Kerryn Fields’s records.

Most notable for “Desert Dove”, a standout track that earned Arrowsmith her second APRA Country Music Song of the Year win, we placed Blue Dreams in the Top 5 of our Best New Zealand Albums of 2024 list.

“On Blue Dreams, her third album, Arrowsmith sounds just as close and soothing as she would at a show. The Christchurch-based singer-songwriter started recording Blue Dreams when she was seven months pregnant, so it’s no surprise that it’s suffused with weighty themes: life and death, faith and doubt, as well as conflicting emotions like despair and hopefulness,” we wrote.

“Despite the upheaval of that time in her life, Arrowsmith often sings with a confronting serenity on Blue Dreams, as if these songs were recorded in retrospect, only yesterday, in the soothing glow of hindsight.”

Who Should Win
Holly Arrowsmith – Blue Dreams

See above. Blue Dreams was a towering achievement for its creator.

Te Manu Taki Ātete o te Tau | Best Hip Hop Artist

David Dallas – Vita
Jujulipps – Superstar
RNZŌ

Who Will Win
David Dallas – Vita

David Dallas’ latest project Vita is all the proof you need that he’s the frontrunner for Best Hip Hop Artist. The Papatoetoe-born rapper returned sharp as ever with a release that dropped quietly last year, unbothered by trends and locked into a relentless mindset.

He and longtime collaborator Nick “41” Maclaren, a day-one from the Frontline era, delivered a tight, focused release that hit hard without overreaching. Everything about it felt raw and DIY.

Who Should Win
David Dallas – Vita

Jujulipps and RNZŌ will compete in this category again in future years, but it’s Dallas’ year. Vita was a reminder that he’s still setting the bar.

Te Manu Taki Arotini o te Tau | Best Pop Artist

Cassie Henderson – The Yellow Chapter
Frankie Venter
Georgia Lines – The Rose of Jericho

Who Will Win
Georgia Lines – The Rose of Jericho

Cassie Henderson and Frankie Venter both have bright futures ahead of them – particularly the latter, the precocious, Coldplay-supporting young star who’s built up a fervent fanbase in a remarkably short period of time – but this year undoubtedly belongs to Georgia Lines.

Who Should Win
Georgia Lines – The Rose of Jericho

A Top 10 entry on our Best New Zealand Albums of 2024 list, we praised Lines’ debut album for sounding “so raw and delicate that you immediately feel the heartache which had to be overcome to make it.”

“With songs about the dichotomy of a life well lived (‘Grand Illusion’), mourning what could have been (‘Not by Your Side’ ft. Teeks), and all the wished-for-words left unsaid (‘The Letter’), it’s any wonder she is one of the most exciting songwriters to come out of Aotearoa in recent memory,” our review stated.

“Make no mistake, the record leans into piano-driven R&B and indie-pop, but with so much imagery and truth in each song, it sits in a room of its own. The Rose of Jericho captures the internal struggle we all feel at some point – that’s the magic of Georgia Lines.”

Te Manu Taki Rakapioi o te Tau | Best Rock Artist

DARTZ – Dangerous Day to Be a Cold One
Devilskin – Surfacing
Troy Kingi – Leatherman & the Mojave Green

Who Will Win
Troy Kingi – Leatherman and the Mojave Green

Now on the eighth entry in his intriguing 10:10:10 project (10 albums in 10 years), Troy Kingi didn’t sound tired in the slightest as he neared the end of his mission on Leatherman & the Mojave Green.

That perseverance and consistency – added to Kingi’s enduring popularity in these parts – will likely see him triumph in this category.

Who Should Win
DARTZ – Dangerous Day to Be a Cold One

Sorry Troy Kingi and Devilskin, it’s time to celebrate the future of Kiwi rock music. DARTZ know how to make pure, unvarnished punk rock better than most of their peers.

Te Manu Taki Taketake o te Tau | Best Roots Artist

Christoph El Truento – Dubs From the Neighbourhood
Corrella – Skeletons
Lomez Brown

Who Will Win
Corrella – Skeletons

Yes, they won in this category last year. Yes, that might deter voters (more on that below). But Corella’s massive popularity will likely see them be named Best Roots Artist for a second consecutive year.

Who Should Win
Christoph El Truento – Dubs From the Neighbourhood

New Zealand super producer Christoph El Truento just can’t escape our year-end lists. After Circle of Friends landed at No. 18 in 2023, Dubs From the Neighbourhood made it all the way to No. 9 last year.

“El Truento – aka Christopher Martin James – continues his exploration of dub music on his latest album, a welcome companion piece to his 2019 release, Peace Maker Dub.

“The tracks on Dubs From the Neighbourhood are filled with a genuine warmth that can only be felt when their creator is both a scholar and a superfan of the genre he’s honouring. You’ll be wanting to visit El Truento’s neighbourhood for some wonderfully wobbly dub music again and again,” we praised. Never nominated on his own (he received a nod for producing Avantdale Bowling Club’s album TREES last year), it’s time for a local legend to be honoured at Aotearoa’s biggest music night.

Te Manu Taki Manako o te Tau | Best Soul/RnB Artist

Aaradhna – Sweet Surrender
Sam V
Stan Walker

Who Will Win
Stan Walker

Aaradhna’s comeback album (more on that below) deserves recognition, but the fact that she won in this very category last year might deter voters. If that happens, it’s Walker’s category to win.

Who Should Win
Aaradhna – Sweet Surrender

Similar to Fazerdaze, Aaradhna fans had to wait a while between albums. When Sweet Surrender eventually followed 2016’s Brown Girl last year, it proved to be a stunning return record.

“When you’re almost two decades into a distinguished career in Aotearoa music, you’ve got to keep challenging yourself… The result is a confident collection that signals a bold new chapter in her already excellent discography,” we wrote when including Sweet Surrender in the Top 15 of our Best New Zealand Albums of 2024 list.

Te Taumata o te Kaiwhakaputa | Best Producer

CHAII, Frank Keys – Safar (CHAII)
Nic Manders – The Rose of Jericho (Georgia Lines)
Rory Noble

Who Will Win
CHAII, Frank Keys – Safar (CHAII)

A husband and wife duo absolutely killing it. CHAII and her partner in life and music went hard on every track on Safar, an album that so impressed with its dizzying genre-blending.

Safar (which means “journey” in Farsi) captured CHAII’s journey of moving from Iran to New Zealand at a young age, and “continuing to have a connection to my culture through my music.”

What a proud achievement Safar was for CHAII and Keys. “15 years ago, I told my school music teacher that I was going to mix Persian and Western music together and since then I’ve continuously experimented and had fun with it, while going through different phases of my life at the same time,” she once said. Mission more than accomplished.

Who Should Win
CHAII, Frank Keys – Safar (CHAII)

Rory Noble has impressive credits, and Nic Manders sublimely brought the piano ballads of The Rose of Jericho to life, but CHAII and Keys’ potent connection deserves to be celebrated.