After winning two Tūī last year, L.A.B have proven they’re going from strength-to-strength taking home four Aotearoa Music Awards at the Aotea Centre in Tāmaki Makaurau.
The iconic artists took home Recorded Music NZ Te Pukaemi o te Tau | Album of The Year for their fourth album L.A.B. IV, TVNZ Te Waiata Tōtahi o te Tau | Single of the Year for ‘Why Oh Why’, Te Roopu Toa | Best Group and Te Kaipuoro Taketake Toa | Best Roots Artist.
Having only released his debut album Something To Feel in March, singer/songwriter TEEKS has also made his mark in 2021, winning three Tūī this evening - Te Kaipuoro Takitahi Toa | Best Solo Artist, Te Kaipuoro Awe Toa | Best Soul/RnB Artist and Te Māngai Pāho Te Kaipuoro Māori Toa | Best Māori Artist.
Extraordinarily, this year celebrates two of the youngest ever artists to walk away with not just one, but two Aotearoa Music Awards, as cousins Atareta Milne (11) and Te Haakura Ihimaera-Manley (9) were awarded with the humm Te Kōwhiri to te Nuinga | People’s Choice Award and Te Māngai Pāho Mana Reo Award.
These two clever wāhine taitamariki are the stars of Māori Television series Te Nūtube, who have been celebrated for their single ‘PEKE', and overtook huge industry names to be crowned humm Te Kōwhiri o te Nuinga | People’s Choice.
With the surname akin to music royalty in Aotearoa, it’s no surprise that Harper Finn would become a celebrated artist in his own right.
This evening proved he’s making his own path ahead, walking away with his first Tūī as this year’s recipient of Spotify Te Kaituhura Puoro Toa o te Tau | Breakthrough Artist of the Year for his single ‘Dance Away These Days’.
BENEE has solidified her position as a Pop juggernaut, taking home the Tūī for The Edge Te Kaipuoro Arotini Toa | Best Pop Artist. This brings BENEE’s total Tūī collection to nine, after claiming four awards at both the 2019 and 2020 ceremonies.
Fan favourites Six60 have been announced as Te Toa Hoko Teitei | Highest Selling Artist for 2021, they also won NZ On Air Te Rikoata Marakerake o te Tau | Radio Airplay Record of the Year for their single ‘Fade Away’.
Other 2021 winners included Dead Favours who won Te Kaipuoro Rakapioi Toa | Best Rock Artist and Team Dynamite who won Te Kaipuoro Hipihope Toa | Best Hip Hop Artist. Te Kaipuoro Manohi Toa | Best Alternative Artist went to Na Noise, and Te Kaipuoro Tāhiko Toa | Best Electronic Artist went to Paige Julia, while Claire Cowan is the 2021 Te Kaipuoro Inamata Toa | Best Classical Artist.
Additionally, the latest inductees to the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame | Te Whare Taonga Puoro o Aotearoa were acknowledged tonight. Each have left a lasting legacy and forged a path for others on-stage as well as behind the scenes.
Annie Crummer, Debbie Harwood, Dianne Swann, Margaret Urlich and Kim Willoughby have been recognised for their individual contributions to the Aotearoa music scene, the inspiration they provided to local artists and audiences, and their importance in shaping New Zealand’s popular culture.
Recorded Music New Zealand Kaiwhakahaere o Ngā Tohu Puoro Sarah Owen congratulates this year’s deserving recipients.
“It is always a privilege to celebrate some of our most talented and creative musicians. This year’s event felt extra special, as we acknowledge how lucky we are to have been able to run a live show with the challenges of COVID-19,” says Owen.
“I want to commend all Aotearoa musicians for creating such incredible work, somehow making magic through such a difficult year. As always, I’m in awe of ngā hapori puoro talent.”
The 2021 Aotearoa Music Awards were hosted by Hayley Sproull & Stan Walker and were broadcast live on TVNZ 2 and TVNZ OnDemand, featuring performances by Harper Finn, L.A.B, Team Dynamite, TEEKS, Te Nūtube, Troy Kingi, Goldsmith Baynes, and Stan Walker.
Artisan Awards
The sixth annual Artisan Award winners were also announced tonight thanks to Massey University, celebrating the Kiwi talent that is behind some of our most recognised musicians.
This year’s award for Massey University Te Kaiwhakaputa Toa | Best Producer was won by Delaney Davidson & Jol Mulholland for their work on Troy Kingi’s album Black Sea Golden Ladder. Jol Mulholland was also awarded Te Kaipukaha Toa | Best Engineer for his work on the same album.
Other Tūī included NZ On Air Te Kiko Puoro Ataata Toa | Best Music Video Content which was won by Alexander Gander for Georgia Lines’ video ‘No One Knows’, and Te Toi Ataata Pukaemi Toa | Best Album Artwork won by Amanda Cheng for the album Clot by Wax Chattels.
The final Artisan Award, Kaiārahi Puoro o te Tau | Music Teacher of the Year celebrates the enormous impact that music teachers have on our musicians’ careers. This year’s award was won by 3x finalist Jane Egan, head of music at Gisborne Girls High School.
Andre Ktori, Head of School, School of Music and Creative Media Production at Massey University says: “Massey University is proud to have presented the Artisan Awards again this year. Our community and industry whānau came together to put on an excellent event that celebrated the people who work behind the scenes to make our music industry run.”
For the third year running the Music Managers Forum Aotearoa presented their Kaiwhakahaere Puoro o te Tau | Recorded Music NZ Manager of the Year award, won by Nicole Thomas & Paula Yeoman from NicNak Media.
The chair of the Music Managers Forum AotearoaTeresa Patterson says: “We’re thrilled to celebrate the dedicated music managers who support musicians here at home. After a tough 18 months, it’s incredible to see the work Nicole and Paula have done to aid and encourage their talented roster of artists.”
For those who missed the show, the entire broadcast of the 2021 Aotearoa Music Awards, 2021 Artisan Awards and a selection of clips from the live performances will be available to view on TVNZ OnDemand.