The APRA Music Awards Are Tonight - Here Are All The Fun Facts You Need To Know

One year to the day the 2020 event had been due to take place at the International Convention Centre in Sydney, the 2021 APRA Music Awards are set to make a live comeback after COVID threw the industry, and the awards, into chaos resulting in them being streamed online for the first time.

“After such a difficult year, I can’t tell you how excited I am at the prospect of being in a room to celebrate the achievements of our incredible songwriter and publisher members," said Milly Petriella, Creative Director APRA Music Awards. 

"2020 was incredibly tough for our industry on so many levels, and while hosting our events virtually was a good alternative nothing can replace the warmth of a live event."

Just how many songs were eligible for the APRA Music Awards this year?

As always, the awards are all about the songs. This year 1,437 eligible songs were voted on by APRA members. The list was whittled down to a short list of 25 and then pared back again to just five songs which make up the nominees for APRA Song Of The Year, Australia’s biggest peer voted music award.

What does that mean for the states and artists?

If you’re wondering which state ruled in the nomination stakes, the winner this year is NSW, followed by Victoria and solo artists dominated over band nominations.

The oldest nominee for an APRA Music Award is...

The 2021 APRA Music Awards will see 91 year old country music trailblazer Joy McKean take the stage to receive the Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music. In 1999, when Joy was 69, she became the APRA Music Awards oldest nominee for Most Performed Country Work for the song The Biggest Disappointment.

And the youngest nominee for an APRA Music Award is...

At the other end of the age spectrum is the youngest nominee for 2021 The Kid LAROI who has been named a contender for Breakthrough Songwriter Of The Year. 

The Kid LAROI joins a handful of young songwriters who have been recognised by APRA in the early stages of their songwriting careers including Ella Hooper, Holly Findlay of Stonefield, Ruel, KIAN and Silverchair’s Daniel Johns and Ben Gillies, who were just 16 years old in 1995 when they took out Songwriter Of The Year award - the youngest songwriters to ever win an APRA Music Award.

Looking for this year's APRA Music Awards nominees list? Head right here...

First time APRA Music Award nominees are...

A total of 49 Australian songwriters have received their first-ever APRA Music Awards nomination. They include Joel Davison, Bunna Lawrie, DMA’S and co-writers Thomas Crandles, Joel Flyger and Liam Hoskins (their touring band members), Casey Barnes, MSquared (Michael Paynter, Michael Delorenzis), Brad Cox and co-writer Joseph Mungovan, Andy Mak, Melanie Dyer, John Courtidis, Winston Surfshirt, Isabella Kearney-Nurse, Spacey Jane, Hockey Dad and The Amity Affliction.

From those debuts comes the rise of fresh songwriters across two brand new Award categories - Most Performed Hip Hop/Rap Work and Most Performed R&B/Soul Work, a whopping eight of the 10 nominated songs feature first time APRA nominees. They include Day1, No Money Enterprise, ONEFOUR, Youngn Lipz, Milan Ring and co-writer BLESSED, Becca Hatch and her four co-writers Maribelle Anes, Jamie Muscat, Willie Tafa and Solo Tohi.

Tell us about this year's APRA Music Awards Musical Director (and what we can expect on the night...)

Another first timer is brand-new Musical Director in PJ Harding (aka Thief), who takes the reins from Kate Miller-Heidke who held the role for two years. “Milly Petriella rang me late last year and asked if I would do it and, like a lot of people, I have trouble saying no to Milly. So here we are!” said Harding.

In keeping with APRA Awards tradition, the Musical Director is charged with serving up the signature dish of artists who put their own unique spin on the five APRA Song of the Year nominations, often having to perform with the songwriters who wrote the songs sitting in the audience. 

This year’s live performances features a cracking lineup that includes Odette (joined by Beau Golden, Daniel Walsh and Dave Jenkins Jr), Cat & Calmell, Lime Cordiale, Jimmy Barnes, Josh Teskey, respected Gadigal Elder Uncle Allen Madden, Lior, Taka Perry, Gia Vorne, Emalia, A GIRL, Hauskey, Sycco, and Stevan.

"I tried to pick a group of performers that would, at least to an extent, represent the incredible diversity and artistry we have in this country," said Harding of the lineup. "I honestly also tried to just pick people who I knew would crush it. I’m a fan of everyone up there. No one really required convincing. Having done it myself, it’s a real buzz and an honour to get up there." 

"I think it’s going to be a really fun lineup of music. We have a lot of bangers this year, not a whole lot of downtempo stuff.”

I'm not able to attend the APRA Music Awards this year but I'd still like to be involved, how can I do that?

For the first time, people following along at home can watch rolling highlights from the APRA Music Awards on YouTube. 

"The APRA Music Awards kicks off our suite of events for 2021 and is hopefully another sign that our music community is regaining its footing and coming back to life," said Petriella. "We look forward to sharing all the awards highlights with you all via the APRA AMCOS YouTube channel."

And if you’re at home following along, be sure to catch the brilliant and witty Alex Lahey as she does a red carpet takeover on the official APRA AMCOS Instagram account here.

The 2021 APRA Music Awards take place Wednesday 28 April at the Sydney ICC with hosts Julia Zemiro, Ziggy Ramo and Georgia Mooney. Head here for more information on the APRA Music Awards.