Finalists Announced for 2017 Children's Music Awards

Tuesday February 7, 2017

Finalists Announced for 2017 Children's Music Awards

We're very pleased to announce the vibrant finalists for the 2017 APRA Best Children's Music Song, The Recorded Music NZ Best Children's Music Album, and the NZ On Air Best Children's Music Video.

APRA Best Children's Song finalists:
- Itty Bitty Beats for Kiwi Convoy
- Levity Beet and Friends for Lie Down In The River
- Moe and Friends for We Like Pets!

Recorded Music NZ Best Children's Album finalists:
- Anika Moa for Songs for Bubbas 2
- Claudia Gunn for Little Wild Lullabies
- Itty Bitty Beats for On The Move

NZ On Air Best Children's Music Video finalists:
- Itty Bitty Beats for Kiwi Convoy
- Moe and Friends for Cutting Shapes on the D-Floor
- Raymond McGrath for Monstomping!

The quality of entries across the board was the highest we've had, and we'll warn you now, if you've got kids, they'll want to hear these songs over and over!

A little bit about our finalists:

Itty Bitty Beats, who are in the running for all three awards, are definitely on a roll! After forming in 2014, the Christchurch duo were nominated for Best Album with their debutBath Time in 2015, and in 2016 they won both Best Album and Best Song. Their colourful, catchy, Kiwi-centric songs certainly seem to have captured imaginations across the country.

Moe and Friends, who are finalists for Best Song and Best Video, have been entertaining kids for nearly three years on beloved TV series The Moe Show. With songs written by Jeremy Dillon and Ben Sinclair, and brought to life by the entire Moe Show team, they seamlessly blend humour and education into one energetic package.

Levity Beet will be a familiar name to any children's music fans, having won the 2015 Best Song award with There's One In The Bush, and enchanted audiences around New Zealand with his enterprising, imaginative, fun performances. This year he's also a finalist for Best Song, with Lie Down In The River.

Raymond McGrath will be familiar to some of you as an author, illustrator, and animator, known for his magical drawings and beautiful books, but also as a talented musician, bringing his books to life through songs and videos too. This year he's a finalist for Best Video with his simple but wonderfully crafted and memorable song Monstomping!

Anika Moa is renowned for her cheeky humour and soulful music. While she's had a wonderful, long career writing award-winning songs that have found plenty of adult fans, when she had children of her own, she decided to write songs for them too. And it turns out she had quite the knack for impressing babies and toddlers with her playful, forthright, occasionally naughty tunes, with her first kids album Songs for Bubbas selling like hotcakes. The second one looks set to be just as popular, and is a finalist for Best Album.

Claudia Gunn has won the Best Song Award not once, but twice before, recognising her talents as a compelling musical storyteller. This carries through to her much-anticipated debut album Little Wild Lullabies, which perfectly captures those golden moments between waking and sleeping, and is a finalist for Best Album.

Winners will be announced at a ceremony on Children's Day at Silo Park on Sunday March 5. There will be live performances, movie and video screenings, and plenty of fun and games. Come on down!

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