Aotearoa Music Awards: Announcing The 2022 Finalists

Today the Aotearoa Music Awards | Nga Tohu Puoro o Aotearoa announce the 2022 finalists, with the winners to be announced on November 10th.

With six nominations Rob Ruha emerges as the frontrunner for this year’s awards.

Rob is nominated for six awards: Recorded Music NZ Te Pukaemi o te Tau | Album of the Year for his third album Preservation of Scenery, Te Waiata Tōtahi o te Tau | Single of the Year for ‘That’s Where I’ll Be’, Te Kaipuoro Takitahi Toa | Best Solo Artist, Te Māngai Paho Te Kaipuoro Māori Toa | Best Maori Artist, Te Kaipuoro Awe Toa | Best Soul/RnB Artist, and Te Māngai Paho Mana Reo award.

Additionally, under Rob’s mentorship, tira waiata Ka Hao are nominated for five Tūī including Te Waiata Tōtahi o te Tau | Single of the Year and Te Māngai Paho Mana Reo award for ’35’ (ft. Rob Ruha), as well as Te Roopu Toa | Best Group, Te Kaipuoro Taketake Toa | Best Roots Artist, and Te Māngai Paho Te Kaipuoro Māori Toa | Best Maori Artist for their debut album Ka Hao: One Tira, One Voice.

Summer staple L.A.B are back again after winning four Tūī at the 2021 Aotearoa Music Awards including Recorded Music NZ Te Pukaemi o te Tau | Album of The Year for their fourth album L.A.B. IV.

This year, they’re back and hoping to recreate history. The group are nominated for the same four Tūī including Recorded Music NZ Te Pukaemi o te Tau | Album of the Year for their fifth album L.A.B V, Te Waiata Tōtahi o te Tau | Single of the Year for ‘Mr Reggae’, Te Roopu Toa | Best Group and Te Kaipuoro Taketake Toa | Best Roots Artist.

Country music queen Tami Neilson is also nominated for four Tūī in 2022; Recorded Music NZ Te Pukaemi o te Tau | Album of the Year for Kingmaker, Te Kaipuoro Takitahi Toa | Best Solo Artist and Te Kaipuoro Tuawhenua Toa | Best Country Music Artist. She’s also nominated for Massey University Te Kaiwhakaputa Toa | Best Producer for her work on her own album.

International superstar Lorde has been nominated for Recorded Music NZ Te Pukaemi o te Tau | Album of the Year for 2021’s Solar Power as well as Te Kaipuoro Takitahi Toa | Best Solo Artist and Te Kaipuoro Arotini Toa | Best Pop Artist.

Folk songstress Reb Fountain is also up for three Tūī this year including Recorded Music NZ Te Pukaemi o te Tau | Album of the Year for her album IRIS, Te Waiata Tōtahi o te Tau | Single of the Year for ‘Lacuna’ and Te Kaipuoro Takitahi Toa | Best Solo Artist.

After their 2018 Tūī win and success on the international tour scene, Alien Weaponry are back at the Aotearoa Music Awards with nominations for Te Roopu Toa | Best Group and Te Kaipuoro Rakapioi Toa | Best Rock Artist for their sophomore album Tangaroa.

Local legends Shihad are also up for Te Kaipuoro Rakapioi Toa | Best Rock Artist, as are Tairāwhiti locals Sit Down In Front.

Four new artists have emerged for 2022’s Te Kaituhura Puoro Toa o te Tau | Breakthrough Artist of the Year category: band of brothers COTERIE, singer songwriter Georgia Lines, London-based multi-instrumentalist Jordan Rakei and Ōtautahi indie pop band There’s A Tuesday. Georgia is also a finalist for Te Kaipuoro Arotini Toa | Best Pop Artist, while Jordan also has a Te Kaipuoro Awe Toa | Best Soul/RnB Artist finalist nod.

Other 2022 Aotearoa Music Award finalists include Aldous Harding (Te Pukaemi o te Tau | Album of the Year for Warm Chris), Marlon Williams (Te Waiata Tōtahi o te Tau | Single of the Year for ‘My Boy’), The Beths (Te Waiata Tōtahi o te Tau | Single of the Year for ‘Silence is Golden’), Fat Freddy's Drop (Te Roopu Toa | Best Group for ‘WAIRUNGA’), BENEE (Te Kaipuoro Arotini Toa | Best Pop Artist), , Ben Woods (Te Kaipuoro Manohi Toa | Best Alternative Artist), Te Kaahu (Te Kaipuoro Manohi Toa | Best Alternative Artist), Vera Ellen (Te Kaipuoro Manohi Toa | Best Alternative Artist), Jackson Owens (Te Kaipuoro Awe Toa | Best Soul/RnB Artist), , CHAII (Te Kaipuoro Hipihope Toa | Best Hip Hop Artist), Christoph El Truento and Lucky Lance (Te Kaipuoro Hipihope Toa | Best Hip Hop Artist), Diggy Dupé, choicevaughan and P. Smith (Te Kaipuoro Hipihope Toa | Best Hip Hop Artist), The Black Seeds (Te Kaipuoro Taketake Toa | Best Roots Artist), Julien Dyne (Te Kaipuoro Tāhiko Toa | Best Electronic Artist), LEAPING TIGER (Te Kaipuoro Tāhiko Toa | Best Electronic Artist), TALI (Te Kaipuoro Tāhiko Toa | Best Electronic Artist), Stan Walker (Te Kaipuoro Māori Toa | Best Maori Artist), Troy Kingi (Mana Reo Award), Jenny Mitchell (Te Kaipuoro Tuawhenua Toa Tūī | Best Country Music Artist), Kaylee Bell (Te Kaipuoro Tuawhenua Toa Tūī | Best Country Music Artist), Bridget Douglas and Al Fraser (Te Kaipuoro Inamata Toa | Best Classical Artist), NZTrio (Te Kaipuoro Inamata Toa | Best Classical Artist), and Robert Ashworth & Sarah Watkins (Te Kaipuoro Inamata Toa | Best Classical Artist).

Recorded Music New Zealand Kaiwhakahaere o Ngā Tohu Puoro o Aotearoa Sarah Owen is honoured to present the finalists for this year’s Aotearoa Music Awards.

“From pop through to classical, electronic, hip hop and soul, there’s so much diversity in the music being created and it’s great to see our recording artists taking charge of their own creativity and pushing boundaries,” says Owen.

“With many of our finalists also first-time nominees it is heartening to see the new generation coming through. The music of Aotearoa is such a valuable part of who we are, and we wouldn’t be the same without it.”

The recipients of the Te Toa Hoko Teitei, | Highest Selling Artist, NZ On Air Te Rikoata Marakerake o te Tau | Radio Airplay Record of the Year, Te Kōwhiri o te Nuinga | People’s Choice and Tohu Tutuki o te Ao | International Achievement will also be announced on 10th November.

Announcing the Artisan Awards finalists

Alongside the main awards finalists, we’re celebrating the maestros behind the scenes who bring musicians’ work to life. The Artisan Awards are dedicated to the behind-the-scenes forces of the Aotearoa music industry.

The 2022 finalists for Massey University Te Kaiwhakaputa Toa | Best Producer are CHAII, Frank Keys, Rory Noble for their work on CHAII’s album Pineapple Pizza, Tami Neilson for her self-produced album Kingmaker, and choicevaughan, Diggy Dupé, & P Smith for their collaboration on The Panthers OST.

Te Kaipukaha Toa | Best Engineer nominees are Dr Lee Prebble & Ara Adams-Tamatea for their contribution to L.A.B’s album L.A.B V and Simon Gooding for engineering both IRIS by Reb Fountain and Kingmaker by Tami Neilson.

Visual companions to music are often a crucial element of the artistic expression. This year’s finalists for Te Toi Ataata Pukaemi Toa | Best Album Artwork are Barny Bewick & Lewis de Jong for Tangaroa (Alien Weaponry), Chelsea Jade Metcalf for Soft Spot (Chelsea Jade) and Maria Francesca Melis for Kingmaker (Tami Neilson).

The finalists for NZ On Air Te Kiko Puoro Ataata Toa | Best Music Video Content are Alyx Duncan for Tami Neilson’s ‘Kingmaker’, Joel Kefali and Ella Yelich-O’Connor for Lorde’s ‘Secrets from a Girl (Who’s Seen It All)’ and Nicole Horan, Marara Katipa, Dahnu Graham, Hayden Aull, Thomas Rose, Huhana Ruri-Panapa, Xavier Horan for their work on Troy Kingi’s Black Sea Golden Ladder visual album.

The 2022 Artisan Awards will be announced alongside the Aotearoa Music Awards.

About Recorded Music New Zealand: Recorded Music NZ® represents recording artists and right holders in Aotearoa through licensing, advocacy and promotion. Recorded Music collects broadcast and public performance income from music users and distributes it to right holders and recording artists, advocates to government and others on behalf of recording artists and right holders and promotes artists and recorded music through initiatives such as the Aotearoa Music Awards. Recorded Music NZ also operates The Official NZ Music Charts® and data analysis services and supports the wider music community through collaborations and its music grant programme.

About the Nga Tohu Puoro o Aotearoa | Aotearoa Music Awards: The Aotearoa Music Awards are owned and hosted by Recorded Music NZ. https://www.aotearoamusicawards.nz

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