After winning a bag of ARIA Awards in November, including song of the year, Australian pop icon Troye Sivan has taken out the accolade at yet another local awards show; this time, the APRA Music Awards.
At the event tonight in Sydney, Sivan won the venerated, peer-voted APRA song of the year award for his hit single Rush, just one more accolade for one of the biggest Australian songs released in 2023.
He adds the award to last year’s ARIAs haul, including best solo artist, best produced release and best engineered release. Rush topped the Australian dance charts upon its release, cracked the US Billboard Hot 100, and landed at number eight in the triple j Hottest 100.
It was an even spread of winners across the APRA Music Awards, with pop singer-songwriter Dean Lewis the only artist to end the night with more than one win. He took out most performed Australian work and most performed pop work for his multi-platinum 2022 single How Do I Say Goodbye.
The songwriter of the year award went to The Teskey Brothers after the global success of their 2023 album The Winding Way, while 22-year-old Western Sydney alt-pop songwriter grentperez took out the first-ever emerging songwriter of the year award.
The award replaces the breakthrough songwriter award, which has previously been won by artists including Sia, Missy Higgins and The Kid Laroi.
“As a Filipino Australian artist, I feel seen, as well as coming out from Western Sydney, the creativity is emerging from everywhere and it really goes to show, I think, ’emerging’ is the perfect word for it,” grentperez said in a statement about the win.
“For me, it’s been three to four years in this career and hopefully many, many more, so thank you all so much.”
Heavy-hitters Sia (Unstoppable) and Taylor Swift (Anti-Hero) took out the awards for most performed Australian work overseas and most performed international work respectively.
Genre-leading artists including Parkway Drive, ONEFOUR and Birds of Tokyo all won their categories, while the legendary Bart Willoughby was awarded the Ted Albert Award for outstanding services to Australian music for his work as the driving force behind iconic band No Fixed Address.
Willoughby performed a version of his groundbreaking song Black Man’s Rights alongside Don Walker, Stephen Pigram, Tjimba Possum-Burns, Yvonne Rigney and Djindu Willoughby.
Each of the peer-nominated finalists for song of the year were re-imagined by fellow Australian artists at the ceremony, with Brisbane pop group Cub Sport performing Letting Go by Angie McMahon; Sweet Talk playing The Worst Person Alive by G Flip; Adelaide rockers Bad//Dreems performing If Not Now by Paul Kelly; Ashli playing Therapy by Sarah Aarons, and Haiku Hands and vocalist Thandi Phoenix taking on winning song Rush.
Here is the full list of winners:
Peer-voted APRA song of the year
Troye Sivan – Rush
Ted Albert Award for outstanding services to Australian music
Bart Willoughby
Songwriter of the year
The Teskey Brothers
Emerging songwriter of the year
grentperez
Most performed Australian work
Dean Lewis – How Do I Say Goodbye
Most performed alternative work
Birds of Tokyo – Daylight
Most performed blues & roots work
Ziggy Alberts – Dancing in the Dark
Most performed country work
Casey Barnes – Summer Nights
Most performed dance/electronic work
Jason Derulo & Shouse – Never Let You Go
Most performed hard rock/heavy metal work
Parkway Drive – Darker Still
Most performed hip hop / rap work
ONEFOUR ft CG – COMMA’S
Most performed pop work
Dean Lewis – How Do I Say Goodbye
Most performed R&B / soul work
JKING – Cinderella
Most performed rock work
Polish Club – Good Time
Most performed Australian work overseas
Sia – Unstoppable
Most performed international work
Taylor Swift – Anti-Hero