Rolling Stone Australia has unveiled its list of nominees for this year’s Rolling Stone Australia Awards, which return to Sydney on April 4.
Among the nominees vying for top honours are global hitmakers and breakthrough stars. Multi-Platinum singer-songwriter Vance Joy leads the list with three nominations for Best Record, Best Single, and Rolling Stone Global Award. Meanwhile, rising star Budjerah, global phenomenon The Wiggles, triple j darlings Spacey Jane, international touring juggernauts Gang of Youths, and king of country Keith Urban also have multiple nominations this year.
The past 12 months have seen the rise and rise of many new Australian artists, all capturing the attention of music lovers and tastemakers. Up for Best New Artist this year are Blake Rose, Budjerah, Eliza & The Delusionals, Forest Claudette, James Johnston, Lara D, Merci, Mercy, and Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers.
Each year Rolling Stone Australia invites international editorial teams, including editors from Rolling Stone US and Rolling Stone UK, to vote in the Rolling Stone Global Award category. Nominated this year are Alison Wonderland, Gang of Youths, Iggy Azalea, Keith Urban, Kylie Minogue, Rüfüs Du Sol, Tash Sultana, The Wiggles, Tones And I, Troye Sivan and Vance Joy.
Speaking to Mediaweek about how the nominees are selected, Poppy Reid, editor-in-chief at Rolling Stone Australia publisher The Brag Media said:
“We look at artists that have had a global reach in terms of when they’ve released a single or done a tour. Or, have they had enough success nationally that it eclipses that international success?
“We’re looking at everything, there’s no one metric that we pay attention to when we go out to our judges. Then when we do our internal judging panel, it’s all about whether or not they made an impact with fans.”
Poppy Reid
The annual awards introduce multiple new sponsors this year, including headline partner Shure alongside Australis, Canna, Panhead, JMC Academy, and Jim Beam.
“I’m pretty stoked with Shure as our partner,” said Reid. “Shure is an iconic brand, Rolling Stone is an iconic brand, I love that we’re bringing them together. It feels very authentic.
“Sometimes events partner with brands that are outside of the entertainment industry – which I also love, because who wouldn’t want to partner with the music industry? – but this just felt like the perfect partner for us.”
Will Repanellis, head of marketing at Jands, said of Shure’s sponsorship: “It’s fantastic that we can bring together two iconic music industry brands, with a combined 153 years of championing Australian music, at this year’s Shure Rolling Stone Australia Awards.”
In the weeks ahead, Rolling Stone Australia will reveal this year’s hosts and performers for the Awards.
First announcing the arrival of the awards in 2020, the first edition of the event saw artists recognised across the five categories, including Best Record, Best Single, Best New Artist, the Rolling Stone Global Award, and the Rolling Stone Readers’ Award. At last year’s ceremony, Genesis Owusu, The Kid LAROI and King Stingray were named the big winners, with live performances from Amy Shark and Ruby Fields.
When asked how the Awards had evolved since their inception, Reid said that “it just keeps getting bigger, it keeps getting better.”
“Brands are really lining up to partner with us on the awards, which is something that we’re super excited about – it means that we’re going to have longevity with these awards.
“We’re in year three, which is a wild thing to think. We’ve already done one Rolling Stone New Zealand Awards last August, so we’re definitely keen to bring that one back again at the end of the year. But, it’s just such a privilege to be able to shine a light on local music, which is making waves both here and overseas.”
Rolling Stone Australia’s print readership was up 20% to 220,000 readers from the previous survey, according to new Roy Morgan research.
2023 Shure Rolling Stone Australia Awards Nominees:
Best Single
Amy Shark – “Only Wanna Be With You”
Budjerah – “Ready for the Sky”
Courtney Barnett – “Rae Street”
Keith Urban – “Brown Eyes Baby”
Ruel – “Growing up is ___”
Spacey Jane – “Hardlight”
The Kid LAROI – “Thousand Miles”
Vance Joy – “Clarity”
Best New Artist
Blake Rose
Budjerah
Eliza & The Delusionals
Forest Claudette
James Johnston
Lara D
Merci, Mercy
Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers
Best Record
5 Seconds of Summer – 5SOS5
Gang of Youths – angel in realtime
Julia Jacklin – Pre Pleasure
Parkway Drive – Darker Still
Spacey Jane – Here Comes Everybody
The Wiggles – ReWiggled
Thelma Plum – Meanjin
Vance Joy – In Our Own Sweet Time
Rolling Stone Global Award
Alison Wonderland
Gang Of Youths
Iggy Azalea
Keith Urban
Kylie Minogue
Rüfüs Du Sol
Tash Sultana
The Wiggles
Tones And I
Troye Sivan
Vance Joy