L.A.B made history at the 2022 Aotearoa Music Awards by being the big winner for the second year running.
The beloved reggae band won four awards: Recorded Music NZ Te Pukaemi o te Tau/Album of the Year (L.A.B V), Te Waiata Tōtahi o te Tau/Single of the Year (“Mr Reggae”), Te Roopu Toa/Best Group, and Te Kaipuoro Taketake Toa/Best Roots Artist.
It capped off a stellar year for the band, after they also won Best Record at the 2022 Panhead Rolling Stone New Zealand Awards earlier this year.
By repeating their impressive 2021 haul, L.A.B became the first-ever New Zealand band to win all four awards in two consecutive years. They’re also only the second artist to win the three major awards – Album of the Year, Single of the Year, and Best Group – in consecutive years.
Despite facing strong competition from the likes of Lorde and Reb Fountain, Tami Neilson was crowned Te Kaipuoro Takitahi Toa/Solo Artist for her latest album Kingmaker. Neilson also picked up the awards for Te Kaipuoro Tuawhenua Toa/Best Country Artist and Massey University Te Kaiwhakaputa Toa/Best Producer in a strong showing, becoming the first female solo artist to win the latter award since Bic Runga in 2006.
Te Kaituhura Puoro Toa o te Tau/Best Breakthrough Artist went to rising singer-songwriter Georgia Lines for her EP Human, while Benee was given the award for Te Kaipuoro Arotini Toa/Best Pop Artist for the fourth year in a row for her EP Lychee.
Rob Ruha – the most nominated artist coming into the awards – didn’t miss out, winning Te Kaipuoro Awe Toa/Best Soul/R&B Artist for his album Preservation of Scenery. Ruha’s close collaborators Ka Hao also did well, including winning Te Māngai Paho Te Kaipuoro Māori Toa/Best Māori Artist.
And they might not have had any inclusion in the major categories this year, but Six60 were still named the Te Toa Hoko Teitei/Highest Selling Artist and earned Te Rikoata Marakerake o te Tau/Radio Airplay Record of the Year for the single “Someone to Be Around”.
You can check out the full 2022 winners list here.
